Kerala recorded a heavy voter turnout of 76.38% as the second phase of the Kerala civic body polls concluded on Thursday. Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Wayanad and Kottayam districts went to polls on Thursday. As per the figures provided by the State Election Commission, Wayanad had the highest voter turnout, with 79.46%. This was following by Palakkad (77.97%), Ernakulam (77.13%), Thrissur (75.03%) and Kottayam (73.91%).
Out of the two Municipal Corporations where elections were held on Thursday, Kochi recorded 62.01% polling and Thrissur 63.77%. The voter turnout had been heavy since the beginning of the polling at 7 am. It remained steady till the end. The voter turnout in the first phase, on December 8, was 73.12%. While Thiruvananthapuram recorded 70.04% polling, Kollam recorded 73.80%, Pathanamthitta 69.72%, Alappuzha 77.40% and Idukki 74.68% in the first phase.
The third phase of polling will be held on December 14. Kasaragod, Kannur, Kozhikode and Malappuram districts will go to polls in the third phase of the Kerala local body election 2020. The counting of votes will be held on December 16.
The local body polls in the state assume significance as it serves as a curtain-raiser to the Assembly elections to be held in May 2021.
While the Opposition claims to have a UDF (United Democratic Front) wave in the elections, the ruling LDF (Left Democratic Front) is confident that it would emerge victorious. Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala said that there is a strong feeling against the incumbent government across the state. CPI(M) state Secretary A Vijayaraghavan, on the other hand, said that the developmental activities of the government have boosted the confidence of the people in the ruling LDF government.
While both the Congress-led UDF and the BJP attacked the Left government primarily for the alleged link of the Chief Minister’s office in the gold smuggling case, the ruling front accuses the Congress of having a secret alliance with the BJP.
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