Brisk polling in Wayanad

During the first hour of voting, Wayanad Lok Sabha and the Chelakkara Assembly seats in Kerala witnessed a turnout of 6.96 and 7.2 per cent, respectively on Wednesday.

People started arriving early in the morning at the 1,354 polling booths in the hill constituency of Wayanad where there are over 14 lakh registered voters, according to the Election Commission figures.

Some arrived early, while others wanted to get it over with quickly before more people started reaching the polling stations, they told reporters.

It is a holiday in Wayanad LS and Chelakkara assembly constituencies on account of the by-polls.

The Wayanad constituency comprises seven assembly segments of Mananthavady (ST), Sulthan Bathery (ST), and Kalpetta in Wayanad district; Thiruvambady in Kozhikode district; and Eranad, Nilambur, and Wandoor in Malappuram district.

A by-poll was necessitated in the hill constituency after Rahul Gandhi, who won the Wayanad LS seat in the general elections held earlier this year, vacated it after he also won from the Rae Bareli constituency.