Kerala's electoral turnout for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections with a 73.6 per cent has been the highest since 1991 in the state.
Kerala's electoral turnout for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections with a 73.6 per cent (6 pm provisional data), has been the highest since 1991 in the state.
All 20 constituencies of Kerala went to vote today.
Despite a record turnout, the increase is marginal from the 2009 turnout of 73.38 per cent. Kerala had registered more than 4 lakh new voters out of which Thiruvanathapuram had registered nearly 1 lakh new voters.
Among the districts, Vadakara constituency had the highest turnout of 81.4 per cent followed by Kannur with 80.9 per cent and Kozhikode with 79.6 per cent. Vadakara had made headlines after CPI(M) local leaders were found guilty in the murder of RSP leader TP Chandrashekharan.
Meanwhile, Kannur and Kozhikode constituted a considerable share of the 10 per cent critical booth all over Kerala.
In Thiruvananthapuram, tired after climbing the stairs, Lissy George, 62, waiting for her son and husband to finish voting said, "I have never missed casting my vote. I am old now and unwell, can't walk without help but still I couldn't resist casting my vote. But I need a clean candidate, cannot tolerate corruption or what each of these politicians are turning our country into."
Also standing in the queue was 18-year-old Sussane. "I am casting my vote for the fist time. I have ensured that I gather all data about my candidates before casting my vote," she said.
Seeing UDF candidate Shashi Tharoor and LDF candidate Bennett Abraham visit the polling booths and greet the voters, Narayan Tambhi in his 70s said, "The decisive factor for my vote is the garbage menace in the city. This will be the biggest factor."
Despite the scorching heat, and the sudden downpour later in the evening, a large group of youngsters flaunting their inked fingers said, "We have votes for a candidate whom we think will be able to get us jobs and opportunities. We want to see change."
The primary contestants in Thiruvanathapuram are Shashi Tharoor from the UDF, Bennett Abraham from the LDF and O Rajagopal from BJP.