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Kerala saw one of the highest polling recorded in the election history as the preliminary data of the Election Commission indicated around 73.3 per cent polling by 6 pm.
In the last parliamentary elections in 2009, polling was at 73.37 per cent with 21.7 million voters casting their votes.
This time, polling was held in 20 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state where about 40 per cent of an estimated 24.3 million electorate cast their votes.
Political circles indicated the rate of polling would be higher and may even cross 75 per cent when the final tally is released.
Even after the scheduled time of 6 pm long queues were witnessed in most of the constituencies.
The final figures will be ready by late night as polling will end only at 8 pm in some parts of the state.
Heavy polling was recorded throughout the state from the morning itself and around 45 per cent of the voters cast their votes by 1 pm. Heavy rainfall in almost all parts of the state had affected polling slightly during the afternoon session, but there were long queues in all the constituencies even after the scheduled polling hours.
Kannur recorded the highest polling of roughly 79 per cent while Thiruvananthapuram saw the lowest at 67 per cent, according to preliminary estimates. Attingal and Pathanamthitta recorded a comparatively lower polling of around 68 per cent each.
The voter enthusiasm was high right from the start in northern constituencies like Kannur, Kasaragod and Vatakara, electoral authorities said here.
Top leaders who cast their votes included defence minister AK Antony (Thiruvananthapuram), Marxist stalwart VS Achuthanandan (Alappuzha) and chief minister Oommen Chandy in Kottayam.
After voting in a booth here, Antony exuded confidence the UDF would record a historic victory with the tally of the LDF plummeting to an all-time low and BJP’s dream once again wilting.
One of the senior most leaders in the country, 91-year-old Achuthanandan, who cast his vote in a booth close to his home in Paravur near Alappuzha, said the “outcome will reflect people’s anger against corruption, price rise and atrocities against women.”
BJP veteran O Rajagopal, testing his electoral fortune in the state capital, said the current round of elections would mark “the end of the Congress era.”
