THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Nemom, the fiercely contested constituency that all of Kerala is watching, recorded the second- highest voter turnout in Thiruvananthapuram. According to figures released by the Election Commission on Thursday 11 pm, the constituency recorded a polling percentage of 80.62. The district’s total polling percentage was 77.05.
The NDA is fielding former Union Minister and BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar in a bid to reclaim the seat - one the party won in a historic victory in 2016 before losing it in 2021. For the LDF and its candidate, sitting MLA and state minister V Sivankutty, it is a matter of prestige to retain the seat. UDF candidate V Sabarinadhan, too, has high hopes.
In the election that Sivankutty won in 2021, the constituency had recorded a turnout of 71.33 per cent. In the historic 2016 election, when BJP’s O Rajagopal captured the seat and opened the party’s account in Kerala, the figure stood at 74.24 per cent.
In Vattiyoorkavu, another constituency witnessing a fierce three-cornered battle, turnout this time reached 76.92 per cent. This is a sharp rise from the 66 per cent recorded in 2021, when CPM’s V K Prasanth won the seat with BJP’s V V Rajesh finishing second.
Prasanth’s principal opponents this time are senior Congress leader K Muraleedharan and BJP’s R Sreelekha. In 2016, it was Muraleedharan who won the seat, with BJP’s Kummanam Rajasekharan in second place. The turnout that year was 70.23 per cent.
T’Puram constituency, which recorded the lowest voter turnout in Kerala in the 2021 elections, has improved its numbers this election. According to latest figures, polling stood at 74.89 per cent.
