The turnout of voters in the T’Puram Lok Sabha segment, which witnessed a three cornered contest, showed a mixed trend on poll day, with the coastal-belt waking up to the call slowly and the eastern and south-western stretches recording heavy polling.
City voters, on the other hand, continued with their usual back-foot mode towards the exercise with a comparatively low participation. The provisional final voting percentage stood at 68.6 per cent, the second lowest in the state in Thursday’s polls.
In the 2009 polls, the voter turnout was only 65.73 per cent, then the lowest in the state.
Afternoon summer showers dashed the progressing trend in voting percentage in many Assembly segments in the constituency to an extent, giving room for speculations as well in a contest noted for the communal and caste divisions.
No major untoward incidents were reported on the poll day while cops were on a heightened vigil in areas such as Poonthura and Vizhinjam.
The heavy polling recorded in Parassala and Neyyattinkara has heightened the hopes of the LDF which is expecting a consolidation of Nadar votes in favour of CPI candidate Bennet Abraham, whereas a higher turnout recorded in Kovalam and Kazhakoottam segments has made the supporters of sitting MP Shashi Tharoor and the UDF camp cheerful. The impressive voting percentage in Nemom and also Neyyattinkara has buoyed O Rajagopal and the BJP team.
Brisk polling was recorded in Parassala, Neyyattinkara and Nemom Assembly segments falling in the constituency, with a majority of polling stations witnessing around 40 per cent of the electorate casting their votes by 11 am itself.
At the same time, voters came only intermittently to coastal booths in Kovalam in the beginning hours of polling. While the voting percentage hovered below 10 per cent till 9 am, it slowly picked up afterwards to peg up to 71 per cent by the end of the polling hours in the coastal stretches of Vizhinjam and Poovar in Kovalam segment.
Long queues formed in the belt by noon, as fisherfolk, including women in large numbers, began pouring in after finishing their daily chores in the early hours.
In Kazhakoottam and Nemom segments,voting was on a consistent pace from the morning,as it ended the tally at 68.1 per cent and 68.3 per cent respectively . Parassala Assembly segment recorded the highest voting percentage - 73.5 per cent and Neyyattinkara registered 72.3 per cent.
T’Puram Assembly segment had the lowest turnout of 62.9 per cent. The adjoining Vattiyoorkavu Assembly segment also showed a similar ‘indifference’, as only 65 per cent of voters turned up.