COVID-19 patients coming to vote in a polling booth at Manarcad panchayat in Kottayam district | Photo: G Shivaprasad|Mathrubhumi
Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala recorded 76.38 percent turnout in the second phase of civic polls in five central districts, the Election Commission said. The final rally is yet to be announced.
On Thursday districts of Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad and Wayanad went to the polls. The first phase of polls was held on Tuesday in which the turnout was 72.67 percent.
The polling saw a very enthusiastic response from the electorate despite the scare of the coronavirus pandemic. Long queues were seen in the polling booths since early morning. Voters started reaching polling stations by 6.30 am itself. The voting started at 7 am and was concluded at 6 pm. After this, one hour was provided for COVID-19 patients and those undergoing quarantine to exercise their franchise.
The district-wise statistics of polling until 6.30 pm is: Kottayam – 73.72 percent, Ernakulam – 76.74 percent, Thrissur – 74.58 percent, Palakkad – 77.53 percent and Wayanad – 79.22 percent.
As many as 98,57,208 voters exercised their franchise including 47,28,489 men, 51,28,361 women and 93 transgenders. There were 57,895 first time voters.
A total of 12,643 polling booths were set up out of which 473 were marked as problematic.