Kerala 74 pc Assembly polls

Kerala,an estimated 74.4 per cent of voters exercised their franchise on Wednesday as voting ended peacefully in all the 140 assembly segments across the state.
According to provisional figures released by Election Commission after polling ended at 5 pm, a total of 74.4 per cent of the 2.31 crore electorate cast their votes, exceeding the 2006 poll percentage of 72.38.Kannur district topped in the turnout recording 80.4 per cent followed by Kozhikode (80.2) and Alappuzha and Ernakulam with 77.8 and 77.4 per cent.The lowest voter participation was reported from Pathanamthitta (68.2) and the capital district Thiruvananthapuram (68.5) In Palakkad district, where Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan is contesting in Malampuzha segment, the turnout was 75.3 per cent.The battle to gain power in the state is keenly fought between ruling LDF and Congress-led UDF with BJP making the contest three-cornered one in at least two seats. In all, 971 candidates are in the fray, including Independents.No major incidents of violence or malpractices had been reported from anywhere, police said.In the LDF, lead partner CPI-M is contesting in 93 seats, CPI (27),JD-S (5), RSP, NCP (4 each), Kerala Congress, INL (three each) and Congress-S (1).

In the UDF, Congress has fielded 82 candidates followed by IUML (24), KC-M (15), SJD (6), JSS (4), KC-J, CMP (3 each), KC-B (2) and RSP-B (1).Key players include Acuthanandan, seeking mandate for the third time and UDF's chief ministerial probable Oommen Chandy from Puthuppally in Kottayam, from where he has won nine times in a row.Besides Achuthanandan, 14 ministers are seeking fresh mandate, eight from CPI-M, two from CPI, one each from RSP, Congress-S, Janata Dal-S and Kerala Congress (Thomas).BJP is pinning its hopes on senior leader O Rajagopal, contesting in Nemom to open its account in the assembly.