According to the most recent official report, Kerala’s polling percentage reached 46.02% at 2 p.m.
Polling at the Elamkulam Village office in Ernakulam constituency began an hour late due to technical difficulties with the Voter Variable Paper Audit Trail equipment. Later, technicians reset the machine. Voter participation was poor in the city booth, with only 15% exercising their political rights.
There are 194 competitors for 20 Lok Sabha seats. Kerala had a turnout of 77.67% in the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
The Kerala Police and Central forces are providing strict security for polling in a total of 25,231 booths located at 13,272 locations around the state.
The CPI-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) has fielded heavyweight candidates against the Congress across the state, sending a clear message that its national affiliation within the INDIA bloc is irrelevant to the Left coalition in Kerala.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) won 19 of the 20 seats, with the LDF winning only one.
With only three hours till the polls close, 52.25% of Kerala’s voters have already voted.
Kerala, which had 2.77 crore voters this time, reached the halfway point about 3 p.m.
According to the most recent official update, all seats except Ponnani recorded more than 50% voting.
The initial rapid pace in the State had slowed slightly by lunchtime due to the oppressive summer heat. Political parties predict an increase in turnout in the last hours.
Kerala had a turnout of 77.67% in 2019.
Thiruvananthapuram (50.49), Attingal (53.21), Kollam (50.85), Pathanamthitta (50.21), Mavelikkara (50.82), Alappuzha (54.78), Kottayam (51.16), Idukki (50.92), Ernakulam (51.24), Chalakudy (54.41), Thrissur (53.40), Palakkad (54.24), Alathur (53.06), Ponnani (47.59), Malappuram (50.95), Kozhikode (52.48), Wayanad (53.87), Vadakara (52.30), Kannur (54.96), and Kasaragod (54.10) are the constituents.
Prominent figures, including senior politicians and candidates running for Lok Sabha, as well as prominent performers and religious leaders, went out in the early half of Friday to exercise their voting rights in Kerala, urging everyone to vote.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly V.D. Satheesan, BJP State President K. Surendran, Saffron Party candidates Suresh Gopi and Anil Antony, and Congress candidates K.C. Venugopal and Shafi Parambil were all spotted voting early in the morning.
Besides them, Congress veteran A.K. Antony, KPCC president K. Sudhakaran, LDF leader E.P. Jayarajan, and CPI(M)’s Thomas Isaac arrived in the morning to exercise their democratic rights.
