Nilambur Assembly bypoll: Polling crosses 70 per cent at 5 pm

Malappuram (Kerala) | Voting in the bypoll for the Nilambur Assembly constituency in Kerala on Thursday saw a steady turnout during the day, but slowed down towards evening and crossed the 70 per cent mark at 5 pm.

The turnout was 70.76 per cent at 5 pm, according to Election Commission figures.

But it is not the final figure as data entry was not completed from all booths, the commission said.

In the 2021 assembly polls, the turnout in Nilambur was 75.20 per cent.

The votes would be counted on June 23.

Polling commenced at 7 am amidst tight security arrangements, including the deployment of central security forces and police, along with live monitoring of the by-election process through an extensive webcasting system.

The turnout was 13.15 per cent in the first two hours, increased to 30.15 by 11 am, and reached close to 60 per cent by 3 pm.

People began arriving at the 263 polling booths located across the constituency early in the morning. The constituency has 2.32 lakh voters, and their representative has to be elected from among 10 candidates.

Among the 10, the key contenders are ruling LDF pick M Swaraj, Aryadan Shoukath (Congress-led UDF), Trinamool Congress state convener and independent candidate P V Anvar, and Mohan George of the BJP-led NDA.

Speaking to reporters while moving from one booth to another in the morning, Shoukath said that the turnout would increase and the rains would not affect it.

He also said that with the setting up of 59 new booths, there may not be long queues outside many polling stations. The UDF candidate expressed confidence about winning by a huge margin.

LDF's Swaraj was also confident of securing a win in the bypoll.

He, too, said that the voter turnout would pick up speed, despite the rains, as the day progressed.

BJP candidate George claimed that his party was expecting to win as they got a positive response from the people who were accepting Narendra Modi's developmental policies.

"A comprehensive development of Nilambur is our aim," he said.

Anvar, whose resignation as MLA from Nilambur necessitated the byelection, told reporters about the developments carried out in the constituency when he was representing it.

He also claimed that neither of the three fronts -- UDF, LDF, and NDA -- discussed the local issues, like wild animal attacks, during their campaign.

He was confident that he would get a good share of the UDF and LDF votes.

Anvar, presently the state convener of the Trinamool Congress, resigned as MLA of the constituency following his severing of ties with the CPI(M)-led LDF over certain allegations by him against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his close aides.

The voting commenced in the morning after a mock polling was carried out to check if the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were working.

The final voter list includes 1,13,613 men, 1,18,760 women, and 8 transgender persons, with 7,787 first-time voters, 373 overseas voters, and 324 service voters.