Elaborate arrangements have been made for the smooth conduct of the Lok Sabha polls in the district on Tuesday.
A control room is functioning at the chamber of the District Collector. More police personnel have been deployed in some of the booths identified as politically and communally sensitive, especially in the Vadakara Lok Sabha constituency.
Following clashes that occurred between rival parties during the final public campaign on Sunday, District Collector Seeram Sambasiva Rao has clamped prohibitory orders in the limits of Vadakara municipality and Onchiyam, Nadapuram, Perambra and Kunnummal grama panchayats from 6 p.m. on April 23 to 10 p.m. on April 24.
As many as 951 out of the total 2,177 polling stations fall under special monitoring categories including sensitive, vulnerable, critical and under threat of Maoist extremism.
Candidates and mainstream political parties took out a silent campaign on Monday. Political workers were in a bid to ensure maximum voter turnout, particularly in Kozhikode North and Kozhikode South Assembly segments. A total of 26 candidates are in the fray for the Kozhikode and Vadakara seats. Fourteen candidates are contesting in Kozhikode and 12 in Vadakara.
The district also has the distinction of two legislators contesting the polls. Left Democratic Front candidate A. Pradeepkumar, MLA, is taking on two-time MP N.K. Raghavan of the Congress in Kozhikode. Congress MLA K. Muraleedharan and CPI(M) nominee P. Jayarajan are locked in an intense battle in Vadakara.