KOCHI: Just hours before polling was set to begin, a candidate for Pampakuda grama panchayat in Muvattupuzha died on Tuesday. The deceased, C S Babu, 59, the Congress candidate for the Onakkoor ward, collapsed at his residence around 3 am and died shortly thereafter. Following the incident, the election commission postponed polling in the ward, said sources.
The election officer said only the polling for the 10th ward (Onakkoor) of Pampakuda panchayat has been postponed following the death of the candidate and will be conducted later.
Elections for the block panchayat and district panchayat divisions under the Pampakuda–Onakkoor area will proceed as scheduled, the official said. In a separate incident in the Ernakulam rural district, a 74-year-old voter died after collapsing inside a polling booth.
The deceased, Babu from Sreemoolanagaram, collapsed at the Akavoor High School polling station. He was immediately taken to a hospital but could not be saved, said an officer with Kalady police station.