Babu said that authorities were ascertaining the cause of deaths that took place in the state on Tuesday
Congress candidate Ramya Haridas at a polling centre
EVM glitches, power failures, and heavy rainfall did not deter voters in Kerala as some districts in the state went to polls in phase III of Lok Sabha elections on Tuesday. Nine people, however, died across the state on the election day, including a 72-year-old who collapsed minutes before he could vote.
"We registered 74.50 per cent voting in the state till 6 pm while voting was still on in many polling stations," Joint Chief Electoral Officer for Kerala Jeevan Babu said, adding that the constituency of Kannur had seen the largest voting turnout of over 79 per cent with Wayanad following at over 77.93 per cent till 6 pm.
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Babu said that authorities were ascertaining the cause of deaths that took place in the state on Tuesday. "As per our preliminary information, most were senior citizens. The polling for all 20 Lok Sabha seats in the state was otherwise peaceful with a few cases of technical glitches which were sorted out immediately," he added.
A 65-year-old woman collapsed inside a school polling booth in Panur, Calicut district and was rushed to the hospital where she was declared dead. Another 80-year-old voter collapsed and died on the spot at a polling station in Pathanamthitta district.
A R Ajaykumar, Wayanad district collector, satisfied with the large voter turnout said that number is over five per cent higher than the 2014 turnout. Rashid Gazali, a voter from Wayanad said that voting had started late at some polling booths. "It was also raining on Tuesday but that did not affect the voters' spirit," he said.
Collector Ajaykumar confirmed the EVM glitches saying that nearly 22 EVMs had to be replaced. "As per the Election Commission of India, the votes cast in a machine, which later develops technical problems, are considered for counting along with the new replaced EVMs."
Good show at Palakkad, too
D Balamurali, District Election Officer and District Collector of Palakkad said that the district had recorded 75.6 per cent voting while Alathur registered 76.77 per cent of voting till 6 pm. Alathur had witnessed stray incidents of stone pelting between the Congress and CPI(M) party workers on Sunday. Ramya Haridas, the Congress candidate from Alathur, was injured in the incident.
"The district witnessed very heavy rainfall on Monday night leading to a few polling stations (of the 2,110 in Palakkad district) operating without electricity," Balamurali added.
One death was reported in the district. A 72-year-old from Nemmara, who had taken the polling slip and had reached the EVM compartment, collapsed before casting his vote, and was declared dead at the nearby hospital.
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