Brisk polling is being reported from the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency in Kerala where Congress President Rahul Gandhi is contesting as a candidate of the United Democratic Front (UDF).
Wayanad had polled the maximum votes of 33.49 per cent until 12.15 pm. The polling percentage for the state of Kerala as a whole was at 32.81 per cent. The state had polled 74.04 per cent in the 2014 polls.
Wayanad has been receiving thundershowers accompanied by lightning over the past many days and this was had seemingly prompted voters to come out in large numbers during the morning hours.
Polling had picked up pace during the first three to four hours with the hills-bound Wayanad and Idukki running away with early leads. There have been reports of EVM malfunctioning from around the state.
Most of these cases have been settled to satisfaction of all but Chief Electoral Officer Tikaram Meena described as baseless isolated instances where the VVPAT had reportedly generated wrong vote credits.
While the turnout was steady over most of state, it lagged in some seats, including Thiruvananthapuram, where Shashi Tharoor of the Congress is engaged in a strong three-cornered fight to defend the seat.
He is taking on Kummanam Rajasekharan, formerly Mizoram governor and state President of the BJP, and C Divakaran of the CPI under the Left Democratic Front (LDF).
Polling has been steady to moderately steady in the five constituencies where the BJP is seeking to make a deep impact if not winning outright, according to reports reaching here.
Apart from Thiruvananthapuram (27.52 per cent), they include Pathanamthitta (32.66 per cent); Thrissur (32.88 per cent); Palakkad (32.87 per cent); and Kasaragod (28.22 per cent) at 12.15 pm.