Malappuram records 77.41% voter turnout in local body polls

Malappuram district registered 77.41% polling when elections to the district’s 122 civic bodies were held on Thursday (December 11). Polling began at 7 a.m. on a brisk note and continued enthusiastically throughout the day. The exact polling figures were yet to emerge as voters remained in the queue even after the ballot formally closed at 6 p.m. All those in the queue at polling stations were allowed to vote.

Of the district’s 36.18 lakh voters, as many as 28.01 lakh (77.41 %) had exercised their franchise at 8 p.m.

Interestingly, nearly 2.7 lakh more women voted than men in the district. Of the 18.78 lakh registered women voters, 15.35 lakh (81.7%) turned out to vote, while only 12.65 lakh (72.71%) of the 17.40 lakh men voters exercised their franchise.

Among the 12 municipalities in the district, Manjeri municipality, which has the largest number of voters (82,902), registered the highest polling (82.87%), followed by Malappuram (79.71%), Tanur (79.27%), Valanchery (78.22%) and Parappanangadi (78.02%). Ponnani municipality registered the lowest polling (73.08%).

Out of the 15 blocks in the district, Areekode registered 82.91% polling, followed by Kalikavu block (79.87%), Kondotty block (79.7%), Nilambur (79.47%), and Malappuram (79.33%). Perumpadappu block registered the lowest polling with 69.31%.

Long queues formed outside most polling stations in the district since morning as voters turned out enthusiastically to elect their representatives to the municipalities and the three-tier panchayat bodies. The polling was, by and large, incident-free.

Elections were held to 122 civic bodies in the district, including 94 grama panchayats, 12 municipalities and 15 block panchayats. In total, the region comprises 2,789 wards and divisions: 2,001 grama panchayat wards, 505 municipal divisions, 250 block panchayat divisions and 33 district panchayat divisions.

The district had 8,381 candidates. Of them, 6,002 were vying for seats in grama panchayats, 819 in block panchayats, 1,434 in municipalities, and 126 in the district panchayat.

Of the district’s 4,343 polling stations, 3,777 were in panchayats and 566 in municipalities. Polling in 295 sensitive and hyper-sensitive booths was webcast live.

A total of 20,848 officials, including 3,476 reserve personnel, were deployed for election duty. The district used 5,899 control units and 16,172 ballot units for polling in Malappuram.

The votes will be counted on Saturday (December 13) at 27 centres in the district. Schools and colleges which function as counting centres will not function on Friday and Saturday.