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Kerala Registers Record Turnout At Nearly 77%, One Voter Booked Over EVM Glitch

The Kerala turnout in this election has surpass the 2014 numbers. At 82%, Kannur saw the highest turnout.
ARUN SANKAR via Getty Images

Kerala saw record polling on Tuesday as it registered over 76% turnout on Tuesday in the third phase of the Lok Sabha polls. All 20 constituencies in the state voted today and 76.82% of the 2.61 crore voters turned out, reports said.

In the 2014 election, Kerala’s turnout had been around 74%.

Kannur saw the highest polling at over 82%. Wayanad, where Congress president Rahul Gandhi is contesting from, recorded over 79% voting, according to provisional Election Commission estimates.

Pathanamthitta and Thrissur constituencies, which became the centre of focus following triangular fight between LDF, UDF and BJP, registered turnout of 73.82% and 77.19% respectively.

Vadakara saw a voter turnout of 78.97% by 9 pm.

At least 10 voters collapsed and died across the state while in line to vote or on the way to casting their vote, Mathrubhumi reported. Three of the deaths were reported in Kannur.

Amid reports of EVM glitches in several parts of the state, Mathrubhumi said one voter was booked by the police in Thiruvananthapuram for making false allegations.

In Thiruvananthapuram, UDF’s Shashi Tharoor is up against BJP’s Kummanam Rajasekharan and LDF’s C Divakaran.

Tharoor, Rahul Gandhi and BJP’s Kummanam Rajasekharan are among the key candidates in the state.

EVM glitches in Kovalam, Cherthala

In Thiruvananthapuram, after voter Abin Babu filed a written complaint about the VVPAT showing the wrong party, a test vote was carried out in the presence of polling officials, which showed no glitches. He was then booked by the police and later released on bail, Mathrubhumi reported.

Glitches in EVMs in some polling booths were reported in the initial hours of voting in Cherthala in Alappuzha district and Kovalam in Thiruvananthapuram.

At the Kovalam booth, voters alleged votes were going to BJP when they pressed the Congress button, Malayala Manorama reported.

However, Thiruvananthapuram district collector K Vasuki dismissed reports of glitches in the machine in Kovalam and said it ensured that polling was error-free.

NDA’s Wayanad candidate Thushar Vellapally demanded repolling, alleging that an EVM was damaged in the constituency, Mathrubhumi said.

After voting in Kannur, CM Vijayan told reporters that there had been some problem in the voting machine in his booth and in two other places nearby.

Issues relating to the voting machines have been reported from various other places in the state, he said, adding the Election Commission should have ensured that they were free of any glitches.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.