As the third phase of polling in the Kerala local body election began at 7 a.m. on Monday, a huge number of people turned out to cast their votes in Kannur.
In the first hour of the polling, 7.73% voters, including 8.53% men and 7.01% women and one transgender, cast their votes in the district.
Watch | Kerala local body elections 2020: decoding the third phase
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan arrived with his family at Ward 1 of the Cherikal Junior Basic School in Dharmadam panchayat to cast his vote.
Later speaking to media, he said that it would be a “historic election” and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) would mark its victory even in areas where they were unlikely to win.
“We have never faced an election like this in Kerala before. In this election, all the forces are preparing to confront us together and all the necessary arrangements are even being made by the Central agencies,” he claimed.
“They think that their efforts will make us weak and upset us. However, on the day of counting it will be clear who is going to be weak and upset,” he said.
The Chief Minister further said that the Opposition United Democratic Front would suffer a huge setback in this election and the Indian Union Muslim League would be “shattered from its base”, he said.
COVID-19 vaccine
Reacting to the Opposition’s allegation that the announcement that COVID-19 vaccine would be given free was a violation of election rules, Mr. Vijayan said Kerala was the only State in the country which gave the entire treatment for the pandemic free of cost. He said there was no breach of the code of conduct.
Minister E.P. Jayarajan, who reached the polling booth early in the morning, said that the LDF would register a “historic victory” in the local body election.
He said the people of the country were praising the policies of the government. The candidates of the Left Front had worked among the people. They had served the people during the current epidemic and calamities, without worrying about their safety. People knew that only the LDF could bring progress and development, he said.
