Kerala sees 47.08 polling till 1.30 pm

Kerala registered a voter turnout of 47.08 per cent till 1.30 pm on Tuesday in the single phase of the state Assembly polls, according to the Election Commission (EC).

The Palakkad district has witnessed the highest voting percentage with a voter turnout of 51.46 per cent till 1.30 pm, Kozhikode stands second with 48.57 per cent while the Malappuram district witnessed the lowest voter turnout of 43.20 per cent.

Nemom constituency recorded a turnout of 46.11 per cent. While Vattiyoorkavu registered 42.91 per cent polling percentage, Thrissur and Palakkad recorded 43.64 per cent and 49.80 per cent voter turnout respectively.

Voting to choose members of the 140-seat Kerala Legislative Assembly began on Tuesday with thermal scanners and stisers in place outside the polling stations.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan cast his vote in Pinarayi of Kannur. He said that the Left Democratic Front (LDF) will get a historic win in the state Assembly polls as the allegations levelled against his party were already dismissed in the civic election.

Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala cast his vote in Alappuzha's Harippad. He claimed that the United Democratic Front (UDF) will have a "historic victory" in the polls, stating that the Ayyappa devotees will not forgive Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for "trampling on their beliefs".

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from Palakkad Assembly constituency, 'Metroman' E Sreedharan cast his vote at a polling booth in Ponn. Sreedharan said his party will put an impressive show in the elections adding that he will win from Palakkad with a big margin.

Former Mizoram Governor Kummanam Rajasekharan and MP K Muraleedharan have also cast their votes.

A total of 2.74 crore voters will decide the fate of 957 candidates in the fray. Voting will end at 6 pm.

According to the EC, the total electorate in the state includes 1,32,83,724 male voters, 1,41,62,025 female voters and 290 transgenders. These include 87,318 expatriate men, 6,086 women and 11 transgender people.

The results for the Kerala Assembly polls will be announced on May 2.

( With inputs from ANI )