KOCHI: Ayyappankavu SN HSS, which housed five polling booths in Ernakulam constituency, was the most rain-affected polling station in the state. Only 26 votes were cast per booth in the first four hours at the flooded school.
“The whole mess started just a few minutes before voting began. The rainwater started entering the school premises around 6.45 am and by 7.30 am even the entry to the five booths were submerged in water.
Though many voters came to the booth ignoring rain, they returned as it was difficult for them to negotiate the waterlogged pathways. In the first hour, we saw only around 10 votes in each booth,” said Deepak Joy, an Ayyappankavu resident and corporation councillor. Voting at these five booths 64, 65, 66,67 and 68 was also put on hold for nearly 30 minutes with the district administration deciding to shift the polling booth to the first floor of the building around 11.30 am.
“The voters started coming to the booth only after 1.30 pm. The five booths witnessed a deserted look in the initial six hours as only 130 voters had turned up. The voting gained momentum after 2 pm,” Deepak said.“The average voter turnout in these five booths was around 70% in the last bypoll but this time we saw a decline of nearly 25%,” he said.