The polling percentage in Malappuram Lok Sabha byelection held on Wednesday is 71.33 as per figures released by the Election Commission. The estimated figure on Wednesday was 70.41.
District Election Officer Amit Meena said that all the seven Assembly segments that constituted the Malappuram Lok Sabha (LS) constituency had almost the same voter turnout as in the 2014 Parliament elections (71.11 %).
When Kondotty and Malappuram registered the highest voter turnout (73.76% and 73.39% respectively), the Vengara Assembly segment marked the lowest polling percentage (67.76%).
All Assembly segments except Malappuram registered a dip in poll percentage from that of the Assembly election held in 2016. When the Malappuram Assembly segment marked an increase of about one percent in voter turnout, Perinthalmanna, Mankada, and Kondotty showed a considerable fall in voter turnout.
The Left Democratic Front (LDF) had given a tough fight for the United Democratic Front (UDF) in Perinthalmanna and Mankada in 2016. UDF candidates had won from there by thin margins. When Perinthalmanna registered a voter turnout of 77.25% in
2016, it fell to 70.62% in Wednesday’s election. In Mankada, the fall in polling was from 77.32% to 70.07%.
Both fronts claim that the fall in voting percentage will be advantageous to them. Although Vengara Assembly segment marked the lowest figures, it gained an increase of about 2.5% from the 2014 Lok Sabha poll.
