Steady polling in Kerala; 33.4% turnout at 12.20 pm

Polling in the 20 Lok Sabha seats in Kerala continued steadily in the first half of Friday with the state registering a turnout of 33.4 per cent till 12.20 pm.

The election process, held amidst tight security arrangements, was primarily incident free except for instances of bogus voting and breakdowns of electronic voting machines (EVMs) being reported in some booths of the state.

Such incidents resulted in delaying the polling process in the affected booths.

Congress leader Anto Antony, who is contesting from Pathanamthitta LS seat, and his party colleague Chandy Oommen, expressed dissatisfaction over such incidents and the resultant delays, leading to several voters returning to their homes.

Both of them said that they have asked officials to extend the voting time in the affected booths.

The voter turnout was 12.26 per cent at 9.20 am and rose to 16 per cent and then 19.06 per cent at 10 am and 10.20 am, respectively.

Later it increased to 26.26 per cent at 11.20 am and 31.06 per cent at 12 noon.

Attingal LS constituency continued to register the highest turnout at 35.15 per cent with Alappzuha at 35.13 per cent and Palakkad at 35.10 per cent, coming a close second and third, respectively, at 12.20pm.

Three elderly persons and a polling agent reportedly died during the polling in the state.

According to reports, one person each died at Palakkad, Alappuzha and Malappuram after casting their vote and a polling agent died after collapsing at a booth in Kozhikode.

Kerala saw a voter turnout of 77.84 per cent in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Voting commenced in all 20 Lok Sabha seats of the state at 7 am today.