High decibel campaign to end by 6 PM; major contenders step up political heat
Puthuppally: In line with the RP Act (Representation of the People Act, 1951) of maintaining a blackout period or pre-election silence 48 hours before the start of polling, the election campaign in Puthuppally have reached a feverish pitch on Sunday morning and will end by 6 PM. The polling date for the constituency is September 5.
The fronts are gearing up to make this last day of campaigning as memorable as possible with all the three major frontliners beginning their activities bright and early to end with a spectacular kalashakottu (robust sloganeering with drums and crowd support) this evening.
There are 1,76,412 voters in this constituency of which 6,378 people are octogenarians and nonagenarians along with 1,126 maiden voters who are all expected to cast their ballots this week.
Three major parties, along with the Aam Aadmi Party and three independent candidates, are poised to contest the byelections. The counting of votes is scheduled on September 8.
List of Candidates, Party Affiliations and Symbols:
This is a historic moment for the Puthuppally constituency as it is witnessing an election without Congress stalwart Oommen Chandy for the first time in 53 years. The expectations of the voters are at an all time high. While some continue to be influenced by the omnipresent looming influence of the late Oommen Chandy, some remain divided in their assessment of the stalwart's long 54 years in office.
In 2021, Oommen Chandy won the bypoll with a majority of 9,044 votes. He secured a total of 63,372 votes while LDF’s Jaick won 54,328 votes and NDA got 11,694 votes.
Absentee ballot for the Puthuppally constituency ended on Saturday. 97.2% people availed home voting facilities for senior citizens and differently abled persons. Out of the 2549 people who applied, 2491 people voted from their homes.
Anti-defacement squads have removed 9849 campaign materials illegally erected in the district so far in connection with the bypoll.