Brisk polling in first 3 hrs of LS polls in Kerala; 19.06% turnout till 10.20am

Thiruvananthapuram: Brisk polling was seen in the 20 Lok Sabha seats during the initial few hours of voting with Kerala registering a turnout of 19.06 per cent by 10.20 am.

The election process, held amidst tight security arrangements, was primarily incident free except for electronic voting machine (EVM) breakdowns reported in some booths of the state.

The EVM breakdowns resulted in delaying the polling process in those booths, leading to several voters returning to their homes, according to Congress leader Anto Antony, who is contesting from Pathanamthitta LS seat, and his party colleague Chandy Oommen.

Both of them said that they have asked officials to extend the voting time in the affected booths.

The voter turnout was 12.26 per cent at 9.20 am and rose to 16 per cent and then 19.06 per cent at 10 am and 10.20 am, respectively.

The highest turnout till 10.20 am was recorded at Attingal LS constituency at 20.55 per cent.

One elderly person reportedly died in Ottapalam area of Palakkad district after casting his vote.

According to reports, he collapsed after coming out of the booth and was rushed to a taluk hospital, but his life could not be saved.

Kerala saw a voter turnout of 77.84 per cent in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Voting commenced in all 20 Lok Sabha seats of the state at 7 am today.