The second phase of the local body polls in Kerala on Thursday saw a huge turnout of over 74 percent, the state Election Commission said.
Over 14 million voters were eligible to decide the political fate of more than 40,000 candidates vying for 12,651 seats in seven districts - Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad and Malappuram.
The first phase of polling took place on Monday which saw a turnout of 77.83 percent.
Counting of votes will take place on Saturday.
The seats are in 941 village, 152 block and 14 district panchayats, besides 86 municipalities and six corporations.
There were minor hiccups in the smooth conduct of Thursday's polls as malfunction was reported in around 300 electronic voting machines (EVMs) in polling booths in Thrissur, Malappuram and Palakkad.
Following the intervention of poll authorities, the error was rectified at most places, and in some booths in Malappuram district, voting time was extended till 7 p.m.
Meanwhile, the state Election Commission also decided to hold repolling in 27 booths in Malappuram and four in Thrissur on Friday, after a lot of time was lost in trying to rectify the faulty EVMs.
In the 2010 polls, the ruling Congress-led UDF won in more than 65 percent of the seats.
After casting his vote along with his family members in his home town Puthupally, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Thursday told reporters that the people will give the United Democratic Front a thumping win in the civic polls.
"We have been winning in all the previous four polls that took place and this time also it will be the same as we have absolute faith in the people. We (UDF) were not worried of what others were doing, instead we worked as a cohesive unit and hence victory would be ours," said Chandy.
Left Democratic Front convenor Vaikom Viswan also asserted that the political winds were favouring them.
"There seems to be whole-hearted support of the people towards us and hence, we have no doubt that we will have a smooth sailing. We will be victorious as there is a strong wind in our favour," said Viswan.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is yet to open its account in the 140-member Kerala assembly and has around 500 seats in the outgoing local bodies, also claimed that it would be the biggest gainer.
But Leader of Opposition V.S. Achuthanandan, after casting his vote in his hometown near Alappuzha, said the highlight of the local body election would be the total washout of the new tie-up between Hindu Ezhava social group SNDP led by Vellapalli Natesan and the BJP.
