KOCHI: Ernakulam was perched third among the districts with the highest polling percentage after it recorded its best-ever performance in Thursday’s assembly polls. A total of 20,00,247 people from the eligible list of 25,03,848 exercised their franchise. This is 79.89% of the total number of individuals in this year’s electoral roll, which had seen considerable revisions following a special intensive revision (SIR) to remove dead entries.
Compared to the previous election, when the district registered 74.06% polling, this is a significant jump of 5.83%. However, in absolute numbers, there are only 35,008 more voters than the 2021 figure of 19,65,239. So, despite the noticeable jump in turnout percentage, the absolute voter count has risen by only a modest 1.78%.
The number pales further when a comparison with the 2016 data reveals a gain of just 28,721 voters in a district that is, according to official data, home to over 32 lakh people. When taking the absolute voter count, the 2026 election registered only a meagre uptick of 1.16%.
This year, 8 of the 11 constituencies recorded more than 80% polling. Among them, Kunnathunad recorded the highest turnout, at 84.09%. The constituency recorded the highest percentage in the 2021 polls as well — 80.99%. The other leading constituencies are Perumbavoor (80.4%), Aluva (80.78%), Kalamassery (81.59%), Paravur (81.96%), Vypeen (80.5%), Kochi (80.33%), and Tripunithura (81.4%).
Compared to the 2021 polls, the respective jumps are: Perumbavoor (+4.07%), Aluva (+5.45%), Kalamassery (+5.61%), Paravur (+4.81%), Vypeen (+5.78%), Kochi (+10.49%), and Tripunithura (+8.12%). Angamaly recorded the lowest voter turnout this year, at 75.52% — a 0.41% dip despite its electoral roll contracting.
In 2021, the Ernakulam constituency came last in polling percentage, with 65.90%. In absolute numbers, Kunnathunad saw 1,58,339 voters from the eligible list of 1,88,291 exercising their franchise. This is a noticeable rise of 6,315 from the 1,52,024 votes in 2021. In Paravur, the voter count climbed to 1,57,083 from 1,55,316, even as the total electorate shrank by 9,671, pushing up the turnout rate. Kalamassery also improved its participation with 8,068 more voters (1,61,327) turning up this time, compared to 1,53,259 in 2021.
In Tripunithura, the absolute number dipped slightly from 1,55,036 in 2021 to 1,52,982 this year. However, the sharper fall it saw in its electoral roll (-23,658) meant that the turnout percentage actually improved.
Meanwhile, in Aluva, voter turnout improved considerably. Nearly 9,000 more people showed up than the 1,48,016 recorded in 2021, and in Vypeen, the numbers rose modestly from 1,28,590 to 1,29,830. Kochi and Thrikkakara also saw more voters exercising their franchise — 6,083 and 4,655, respectively.In the eastern belt, Kothamangalam and Muvattupuzha too recorded a notable increase with 3,622 and 4,884, respectively. Perumbavoor too observed a similar trend, with more than 1.44 lakh voters casting their votes.