Brisk voting was witnessed on Thursday in Kerala’s elections to 140 Assembly constituencies, with around 50 per cent of voters having cast their ballots by 1 pm, the Election Commission (EC) reported.

At the Vaniyampuzha polling station in Nilambur, members of the tribal community turned out to exercise their franchise, highlighting strong engagement across the state. Vaniyampuzha is a tribal colony situated near Munderi in Pothukal Panchayat, Nilambur, Malappuram district, Kerala.

The high-stakes elections will decide whether the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) secures a third consecutive term, if the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) stages a comeback, or whether the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) can make significant inroads in the traditionally bipolar contest.

According to EC figures, 49.70 per cent of Kerala’s 2.71 crore voters had voted by 1 pm. Turnout rose steadily from 16.23 per cent at 9 am to 33.28 per cent at 11 am, reaching nearly half the electorate by early afternoon. If the trend continues, the EC’s target of over 90 per cent voter participation may be achieved.

Ernakulam district led the turnout with 52.94 per cent, while Thripunithura constituency recorded the highest individual segment turnout at 58.09 per cent. Ponnani had the lowest turnout at 44.52 per cent as of 1 pm.

Polling commenced at 7 am across all 140 constituencies. Notable figures who voted in the morning included Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan, Union Minister of State Suresh Gopi, KPCC chief Sunny Joseph, and actor Mohanlal.

The elections were conducted under stringent security arrangements, with over 76,000 personnel deployed and live monitoring ensured via an extensive webcasting system.