The month-long campaign for the Assembly polls concluded peacefully in the district on Sunday evening.
Electioneering did not reach fever pitch in the final hours, as the Election Commission had banned ‘kottikkalasam’. Hence, the campaigners mainly focused on door-to-door visits.
However, small roadshows and marches were taken out by political parties across the district.
“All arrangements are in place for the polls,” District Collector and District Election Officer Adeela Abdulla said. A total of 6,16,110 voters, including 3,12,870 women and six transgenders, are expected to exercise their franchise.
The highest number of voters are in Sulthan Bathery segment (2,20,167) and the lowest in Mananthavady (1,95,048). There are 2,00,895 voters in Kalpetta constituency.
A total of 18 candidates are in the fray in the district, and five among them are women. While seven candidates are contesting under the General Category, 11 are under the reservation category.
A total of 948 polling booths, including 372 auxiliary booths, have been set up in the district. Forty-eight among them are model green polling stations. There are 299 booths in the Mananthavady segment. While 333 booths have been set up in Sulthan Bathery, the Kalpetta segment has 316 booths, Ms. Abdulla said.
As many as 1,188 electronic voting machines (EVMs) have been arranged, and polling materials will be distributed at three centres in the district, including Mary Matha Arts and Science College, Mananthavady; S.K.M.J. Higher Secondary School, Kalpetta, and St. Mary’s College, Sulthan Bathery, at 8 a.m. on Monday, the Collector said.
There are 5,654 government employees on election duty in the district, and 68 sectoral officers have been deployed.
District Police Chief Aravind Sukumar said the Police Department had made elaborate security arrangements to ensure hassle-free polling in Wayanad.
