If the signs of voting are any indication, at the half way mark on Tuesday, 50 per cent of the Kerala voters have already exercised their franchise. If one was to look back at the 2016 assembly polls the state witnessed a 77.5 per cent overall turnout, in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls it rose to 77.84 per cent but it dropped to 76.20 per cent at the December 2020 Local body polls. And as things stand on Tuesday and given the pace at which the polls are taking place, it could well be an all time high if one compares the recent polls. Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha member Shashi Tharoor opined that as things stand and given the good turnout, this could be good for the Congress-led UDF.
The Sabarimala women s entry issue, one of the major poll planks of the opposition UDF and the NDA against the ruling LDF during the campaign, took centre stage of debate even on Tuesday, the day of assembly election, in Kerala as major leaders locked horns over the matter. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said Lord Ayyappa, the presiding deity at the Sabarimala, and all other gods are with the LDF government which has worked for the welfare of people. Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala in his reaction said the Left government would surely face the wrath of the Lord Ayyyppa and his devotees in this election.
Brisk polling was witnessed in various places in Kerala on Tuesday with 52.41 percent of 2.74 crore electorate having already cast their vote by noon in the assembly elections being held under the shadow of COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the soaring temperatures, long queues were seen in various constituencies with men accounting for 54.31 per cent of the total votes polled till 2 pm. As many as 50.63 per cent women and 23.87 transgender voters have also exercised their franchise. Taliparamba, Dharmadam, Aroor, Chertala, Wadakkanchery and Karunagapally constituencies reported heavy polling. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan (Dharmadam) Opposition leader, Ramesh Chennithala (Haripad), Senior Congress leader Oommen Chandy (Puthupally), BJP state president K Surendran (Konni and Manjeswaram) and Metro Man E Sreedharan, (Palakkad) were among those who had voted before noon.
: Kerala continued to witness heavy polling in the crucial assembly elections on Tuesday with over 65 per cent of the total 2.4 crore voters having already cast their franchise to elect representativesin 140 constituencies. Despite scorching heat and sporadic rain in many parts of the state, people, including women and senior citizens, stood in queues for a long time to take part in the democratic exercise. According to Election Commission figures, a total of 65.93 per cent of the total votes were polled till 4.30 pm. As many as 66.32 per cent men, 65.56 per cent women and 31.48 transgenders cast their vote by the time, it said.
Read more about Congress raises corruption charge against Left govt in poll-bound Kerala on Business Standard. With just three days remaining for the polls in Kerala, opposition Congress came up with a fresh corruption charge against the Left government in the state over its purchase of power from Adani group