Thiruvananthapuram: The second phase of polling in the crucial local body elections in seven districts of Kerala on Thursday witnessed a turnout of over 75 per cent after conclusion of polling.
At 7 pm, the total turnout in the second phase of voting stood at 75.87 per cent which was almost 5 per cent more than the 70.91 per cent recorded in the first phase, according to State Election Commission (SEC) figures.
The total turnout of both phases taken together stood at 73.57 per cent which was less than the 75.97 per cent polling recorded in the local body polls of 2020.
Wayanad district witnessed the highest turnout at 78.07 per cent, with both phases of polling taken together.
Voters began casting ballots from 7 am at the 18,274 polling stations in the districts of Thrissur, Palakkad, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod.
People of all ages and professions, including political leaders, queued up at polling stations since early morning.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan turned up to vote along with his family in Kannur.
Speaking to reporters after casting his vote, he expressed confidence about a historic win for the LDF and said that the Sabarimala gold loss issue would not affect the prospects of the Left front.
He claimed that the government took stringent action in the matter and if it were any other party in power, such steps would not have been taken.
Regarding the reported claims by Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief Sunny Joseph of a conspiracy behind the second complaint of sexual assault against MLA Rahul Mamkootathil, the CM hinted at the presence of a “criminal gang of sexual perverts” in the grand
old party.