Over 2.03 crore voters exercised their franchise in the Lok Sabha elections in the State on Tuesday, according to the final figures published on Wednesday. The polling percentage stands at 77.68, the highest in three decades.
Kannur boasts the highest voter turnout (83.05%) followed by Vadakara (82.48%) and Kozhikode (81.47%), Chief Electoral Officer Teeka Ram Meena said. Thiruvananthapuram has the lowest, at 73.45%. In fact, eight constituencies – Kasargod, Kannur, Vadakara, Wayanad, Kozhikode, Alathur, Chalakudy and Alappuzha – boasted a turnout in excess of 80%. In 2014, 74.02% voters had cast their votes.
Of the total electorate of 2,61,51,534, as many as 2,03,13,833 voters exercised their franchise on Tuesday. Of this, 97,01,721 were men, 1,06,12,409 were women while 63 belonged to the third gender. The third gender had a total electorate of 174 in the current Lok Sabha election in Kerala.
Women participation in the democratic exercise was highest in Vadakara where 85.9% of the female voters queued up at polling booths. It was lowest in Thiruvananthapuram where only 74.7% reported.
In Pathanamthitta, there was an 8% increase in voter turnout. In Wayanad it was just a little over 7%.
Although the polling was scheduled from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., in some booths in Kozhikode it had continued up to 11 p.m. as long queues persisted at 6 p.m.
Action against voters
Mr. Meena stoutly defended the EVMs and VVPATs, but expressed his personal disagreement with the rule which necessitates action against voters who are unable prove that the machine had erred. “Personally, I also feel it is wrong. But it is a law passed by Parliament,” Mr. Meena said.
A police case had been filed against a voter who was unable to prove that the machine had credited his vote to another candidate. He maintained that the EVM, VVPAT rate of failure in Kerala was still less than the national average.
As per final figures, 397 ballot units (1.58%) used for the polls had developed defects. 338 control units (1.35%) and 840 VVPATs (3.36%) also had to be replaced, he said.
“It's not rocket science. We can’t claim 100% success rate. Our aim is to reduce the margin of error. During the training phase two months ago, the margin of error was 10%,” he said.