Large Turn-out for Local Body Poll in Attingal

Over 70% of the electorate cast their mandate in the local body elections held yesterday in Attingal and nearby areas.  While the hype and the frenetic campaigning are over, candidates and party workers are waiting anxiously for October 27, when the results are scheduled to be announced.

How parties welcome voters

In Attingal municipality, close to 20,000 people came out to vote in 32 municipal wards. The interest had been rather subdued during yesterday morning, with only die-hard political loyalists turning up at the polling stations. The situation changed as the day progressed. Woman voters came out in large number in the afternoon.

Election decoration in a Panchayath near Attingal

The election was totally peaceful. The only skirmishes were due to the malfunctioning or mismanagement of electronic voting machine. In one of the booths in Boys High School, Attingal, the machine refuses to function at the beginning. It took almost half an hour rectify the problem. There was a lighting issue too at a booth in Navabharath school. Voters complained that they could not see the symbols on the voting machine properly. This problem too was solved pretty quickly.

Voters approaching a booth

Kuunathu ward registered the largest poll percentage, with nearly 85% voters casting their votes. Melattingal ward has the lowest percentage, with only 63.6% of voters caring to exercise their electoral rights.

Both sides, as usual, claimed advantage for the high voter turn out. Local leaders of LDF, who normally feel secure if the voter percentage remains between 60 and 70%, did not foresee any alarm signs on the high voter turn out. One of them remarked in a bullish tone that they would win at least 22 wards out of 32.

Private buses 'captured' for transporting ballot boxes and voting machines

For him there is no doubt Adv. S. Kumari of CPI(M), contesting in Thachoor Kunnu, will the next chairperson of Attingal municipality.

Meanwhile, UDF leaders too are confident of getting a better mandate than the last time. They are not as gung-ho as their leftist counterparts. Still, they believe that October 27 would witness some upsets and surprises. BJP and other parties such as BSP, DHRM, and BSP do not have much of a stake at Attingal politics. Their only hope is to get a sizeable vote share at least in some wards.

Other places nearby Attingal too witnessed the same trends. In Varkala municipality, 72% voters cast their votes. The contest between LDF and UDF are much more intense and close at Varkala than at Attingal.

The polling percentages in the nearby panchayaths are as follows:

Madavoor – 75%

Pallickal – 80%

Navaikulam – 73%

Karavaram – 77.5%

Nagaroor – 72%

Pazhayakunnummel – 71.4%

Kilimanoor – 74%

Nagaroor – 72%