The politically significant 2015 local government elections in Kerala got underway on a brisk note this morning under gathering monsoon clouds and persistent drizzle with people turning out in fairly large numbers to cast their votes in the first phase of polling covering seven districts.
Unofficial estimates showed that, on an average, around 27 per cent voters in the seven districts turned up to exercise their franchise during the first four hours of polling that began at 7 a.m. Although there was no official confirmation, the turnout appeared to be impressive in Kannur, Kozhikode and Kasaragod in the north and Kollam and Idukki in the south. The reports suggested turnout in excess of 30 per cent in all these districts, the only laggards being Wayanad in the north and Thiruvananthapuram in the south.
In Kollam, the high turnout appeared to suggest an intense contest in the wake of the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), a former ally of the CPI(M), becoming a full-fledged constituent of the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF), and the entry of the SNDP Yogam, with substantial influence in the district, as a key player alongside the Bhratatiya Janata Party (BJP). In Idukki, a surprising 32 per cent polling was reported at 11 a.m., possibly reflecting the high voltage trade union activism seen in Munnar over the past two months. In Kozhikode and Kannur, the battle is primarily between the CPI(M) and Congress, particularly in Kannur where the two have pulled all stops to gain control of the newly formed Kannur Corporation.
Leaders of all the three major political formations were confident about the outcome of the polls, which is being widely being seen as a ‘semifinal’ to the finals, the Assembly polls, due in April-May 2016. Talking to the media after casting his vote in a ward in the State capital, Congress Working Committee (CWC) member A.K. Antony said he was confident that the people would vote overwhelmingly for continuity of the UDF. His party colleague and KPCC president V.M. Sudheeran, also voting in the capital, predicted a ‘big victory’ for the UDF.
However, CPI(M) State secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan in Kannur and V. Muralidharan in Kozhikode thought otherwise, the former predicting collapse of the UDF and the latter about Kerala’s authoring a new chapter in the electoral history of Kerala, voting in large numbers for their respective parties and alliances.
An 88-year voter, Vasudevan Pillai, collapsed and breathed his last shortly after arriving at the polling booth at Vendar in Kulakkada grama panchayat in Kollam district. For the first time in the history of the State, electronic voting machines are being used for local body polls.
