Thiruvananthapuram: A day after Keralites turned out in their highest numbers in three decades for a Lok Sabha (parliament) election, the three key coalitions in the fray, the Left Democratic Front, the United Democratic Front and the National Democratic Alliance, were left guessing the reasons for the high turnout of voters and whom the higher voting percentage would help.
The highest-ever polling percentage in Lok Sabha elections in Kerala is the 79.3 per cent recorded in 1989, and the state came close to breaking that on Tuesday when voters braved intense summer heat in some places, thundershowers in some other areas, and a series of technical faults with voting machines in polling stations across the state.
The final voting percentage for the state was put at 77.68 per cent, with six of the 20 constituencies in the state recording poll percentages over 80. Significantly, five of the six constituencies with voting percentage above 80 were in the Malabar region, namely Kasaragod, Kannur, Vadakara, Wayanad and Kozhikode. Alappuzha was the other constituency with a polling percentage over 80.
Kannur topped the list with a polling percentage of 82.58, and Thiruvananthapuram came last with 73.37 per cent.
Different reasons were attributed to the high voter turnout, including the impact created by Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s decision to contest from Wayanad, the emotions whipped up by the Sabarimala agitation, and an eagerness among young voters to cast their first votes.
'Get out'
On Wednesday, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was furious when asked by media persons about the high voter turnout. “Move out of there,” Vijayan said tersely.
Congress veteran A.K. Antony predicted a setback for the Left Democratic Front, stating that after the election result, the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) will have to reflect on what went wrong for it. “They will have to light a torch at themselves,” he said.
Federal minister and the Bharatitya Janata Party’s candidate in Ernakulam, Alphons Kannanthanam, criticised Mammootty for his comment on Tuesday, in which the actor said the LDF and UDF candidates in Ernakulam were good.
“How can a senior actor like him make such a statement? When there are three contestants in the fray, how can one say two of them are good? It is just not right. After all, I am a federal minister and not an independent candidate,” Kannanthanam said, adding that Mammootty may have been offended that he called on Mohanlal, but not him.
Several Left leaders expressed confidence of a good result for the LDF, given the high polling percentage. Traditionally, high voter turnout has aided the Left, but political observers say this time the high polling percentage may also be owed to a higher turnout by minorities offended by the Sabarimala issue, and agricultural workers and farm owners who are unhappy with the meltdown in commodity prices.
