Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala’s two-phase local body elections concluded on Thursday, wrapping up polling across all 14 districts with a strong voter turnout and a few scattered incidents. After the southern districts voted in the first phase on Tuesday, the northern districts of Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod went to the polls on December 11.
The preliminary estimates indicate that the turnout has crossed 75 per cent, a shade better than the first phase. The final statewide tally is expected latest by Friday early morning.
Voting began at 7 a.m. and ended at 6 p.m., marking the completion of a crucial electoral exercise ahead of next year’s Assembly polls. Meanwhile, political tempers remained high as campaigns continued beyond polling day through sharp remarks.
Minister K. Rajan described the local body elections as merely a “sample fireworks show,” adding that the “real Pooram is yet to come,” in reference to the upcoming major electoral battles.
State Election Commissioner A. Shajahan announced that counting will be held on Saturday at 244 centres across Kerala. Ballot boxes from all polling stations will be stored in district-level strong rooms before being transported to the designated counting centres.
Votes for grama panchayats, block panchayats and district panchayats will be counted at block-level centres, while corporation divisions will be tallied within their respective urban limits.
Counting will begin early in the morning, with Returning Officers first opening ballot boxes before proceeding to tabulate votes recorded in Electronic Voting Machines.
With polling now complete, all eyes turn to the results, which will set the political tone for the months ahead.
However, the biggest news of the day was first-time MLA Rahul Mamkootathil making a surprise entry to cast his vote at his booth in Palakkad, after being on the run for the past 15 days, around 4.45 p.m. The Congress leader made his entry after he secured bail in two alleged sexual assault cases registered against him.
(IANS)
