Lok Sabha Elections: Kerala polling peaceful, Wayanad turnout rises

No violence was reported from the state, but eight voters died either on their way to the polling station, or at the booth or while returning home after voting.

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People wait to cast their vote at a polling station at Batheri in Kerala’s Wayanad. (PTI)

Polling was peaceful in all 20 seats of Kerala on Tuesday. Some stray incidents of EVMs developing technical snags were reported.

No violence was reported from the state, but eight voters died either on their way to the polling station, or at the booth or while returning home after voting. Kerala Chief Electoral Officer Teeka Ram Meena said, “None of the voters died while they were standing in the queue to vote.”

Congress candidates K Sudhakaran (Kannur) and K Muraleedharan (Vatakara) were allegedly waylaid by Left workers when they went to visit polling booths in CPI(M)-dominated areas.

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The initial voter turnout in the state stood at 71.4 per cent as against the turnout of 74.02 per cent in 2014. This time, turnout in all constituencies crossed 70 per cent. In 2014, final polling figures in three Lok Sabha seats were below 70 per cent.

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Wayanad constituency, where Congress president Rahul Gandhi is contesting, registered initial polling of 78.89 per cent at 7 pm. In 2014, the figure was 73.29 per cent.

Police in Thiruvananthapuram registered a case against a youth who raised a complaint with the returning officer alleging that the VVPAT did not display the name of the candidate and symbol that he voted for. The complaint was found to be false after the returning officer conducted a test vote. Subsequently, police registered a case against the voter under Section 177 of IPC. The voter, Ebin, was arrested and released on bail.

Regarding the deaths of voters, Meena said that one Thressiamma of Ernakulam district collapsed when she was standing in front of the ballot unit. She died in hospital. Mani from Kollam collapsed when he was checking the voter list for his name along with the booth-level officer. Two voters, from Kannur and Palakkad, died on the way to the polling stations. They fell unconscious while walking to the booths. Two others collapsed on their way home or at home after casting their votes, said Meena.

The police said the trio from Chandigarh — Rohan (21), Sumit (22), and Mohit (19) — were dhol players by profession and had procured the weapons due to an old rivalry with local residents.

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