Kasargod, Apr 10: In what could be a sign of the intensity of the electoral battle Kerala has witnessed in the 16th Lok Sabha elections, heavy polling was reported from all the 20 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state by noon.
As against roughly 35 per cent votes polled by 1 p.m. in the last Lok Sabha elections in 2009, as much as 40 per cent votes were polled by 12 noon, according to Election Commission figures. Unofficial estimates showed the total polling percentage to be racing towards 50 per cent by 1 p.m.
Defence Minister A.K. Antony and Union Minister of State for Human Resources Development Shashi Tharoor in the State capital, while Leader of the Opposition V.S. Achuthanandan and Union Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi cast their votes in Alappuzha.
While Mr. Antony was certain that the Congress and its allies would secure record number of seats in the State, CPI(M) State secretary Pinarayi Vijayan had no doubt that Congress would draw a blank in the State. Candidates of all the major political formations appeared confident about their prospects.
According to unofficial information available in the State capital, Taliparamba Assembly segment — forming part of the Kannur Lok Sabha constituency — raced ahead of the other segments to register 50 per cent polling before 1 p.m. In general, the polling was higher in the north Kerala constituencies, most notably in Kannur, Vadakara and Kozhikode.
According to figures put out by the Election Commission, the polling percentages at 12 noon were as follows: Kasaragod: 40.4 per cent, Kannur: 41.5 per cent, Vadakara: 39 per cent, Wayanad: 37.3 per cent, Kozhikode: 37.3 per cent, Malappuram: 36.2 per cent, Ponnnani: 36.7 per cent, Palakkad: 39.1 per cent, Alathur: 38.9 per cent, Thrissur: 37.4 per cent, Chalakudy: 39.9 per cent, Ernakulam: 38.3 per cent, Idukki: 37.2 per cent, Kottayam: 38.8 per cent, Alappuzha: 40.2 per cent, Mavelikkara: 38.6 per cent, Pathanamthitta: 37.4 per cent, Kollam: 38.6 per cent, Attingal: 35.2 per cent and Thiruvananthapuram: 34.7 per cent.
No major incident of violence was reported from anywhere in the State till noon.
Earlier
Voting begins in Kerala
Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 10: Polling began in all the 20 Lok Sabha constituencies in Kerala today under clear weather. Voters began to trickle in most of the polling stations as soon as the polling began at 7 am, to choose their representatives for the 16th Lok Sabha.
At many booths, voters queued up well before the start of polling.
About 1.5 lakh officials including 10,000 women have been deployed for poll duties.
Though 269 candidates are in the fray, the main fight, as in the past, is between the Congress-led UDF, now in power, and the opposition CPI(M)-led LDF.
The BJP has turned the electoral battle into a three-horse race in the state capital in down south and the nortnernmost Kasargode.
The principal contestants in the fray include six Union Ministers including K V Thomas (Ernakulam) and Shashi Tharoor (Thiruvananthapuram) all of them from the UDF.
The LDF leaders seeking mandate include CPI(M) politburo member M A Baby (Kollam) and four sitting MPs of the party - A Sampath (Attingal), M B Rajesh (Palakkad), P K Biju (Alathur) and P Karunakaran (Kasargod).
Though the campaign for the elections has remained largely incident-free, the Election Commission has identified 10 per cent of polling booths as critical in view of their past history of violence.
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