As the five southern districts where local body elections are progressing entered the final hours of polling on Tuesday, more than 60 per cent of voters have so far exercised their franchise. The polling officially ends at 6 p.m.
According to the latest updates from the State Election Commission, the polling percentage for Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha and Idukki districts averaged 61.31% by 3.10 p.m.
Alappuzha district recorded 64.79%, while Idukki and Kollam reported 63.35% and 62.06% respectively. Pathanamthitta recorded 60.98 %. In the afternoon hours, the queues in Thiruvananthapuram appeared to have slowed down. The district recorded a polling percentage of 58% as per the latest updates.
About 49% of the voters in Thiruvananthapuram Corporation have cast their votes and 52.71% voters in Kollam Corporation.
In the 2015 edition of the local body polls, the final polling percentage in Thiruvananthapuram had stood at 71.9%, Kollam at 74.9%, Pathanamthitta 72.5%, Alappuzha 79.7% and Idukki, 79.7%, according to data available with the State Election Commission.
With the Commission deciding to hold the 2020 elections in three phases, the remaining districts will go to polls on December 10 and 14. The votes will be counted on December 16.
Electors who tested positive or those quarantined after 3 p.m. on Monday will be permitted to exercise their franchise after all others have cast their votes by 6 p.m.
Minister sees big win for LDF
Minister for Cooperation Kadakampally Surendran told reporters after casting his vote in Thiruvananthapuram that the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) would score a major victory in the State and specifically in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation. The Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) claims in this regard were baseless, he said, adding that the saffron party would not win even half the seats it did in 2015 in the corporation.
Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala said the people would vote against the LDF and the BJP. The local body elections would signal the beginning of a change of guard in the State, he said.
Senior BJP leader Kummanam Rajasekharan said the BJP-led NDA would elbow out both the LDF and the UDF in Kerala. The BJP would capture the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation this time, he said.
State Election Commissioner V. Bhaskaran appealed to voters to follow the COVID-19 protocols at the polling booths.
Ernakulam, Kottayam, Thrissur, Palakkad and Wayanad districts will go to polls in the second phase on Thursday. The elections will be held in Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasaragod on December 14. The votes will be counted on December 16.
