KASARGOD: Voter turnout fell at the seven polling booths in Kannur and Kasaragod Lok Sabha constituencies where repolling was held on Sunday following charges of bogus voting. The election passed off peacefully said an officer. In the Kasaragod constituency, repolling was held in four booths: Kooliyad (booth 48) in the Trikaripur Assembly segment; and Pilathara (booth 19), Puthiyangadi (booths 69 and 70) in the Kalliasseri Assembly segment in Kannur district. In the Kannur constituency, repolling was held at Pamburuthi (booth 166) in the Taliparamba segment and at Kunnirika (booths 52 and 53) in the Dharmadam segment.
Voter turnout saw the sharpest fall at 8.2 percentage points at booth 70, the south block of Juma’ath High School at Puthiyangadi, which is considered a UDF bastion. At Pamburuthi, 82.81 per cent of voters cast their franchise almost the same as on April 23. LDF cried foul after Rajmohan Unnithan, the UDF candidate in Kasaragod, visited booth 19 in Pilathara and spoke to K J Shalet, who could not vote on April 23 as someone else had done it.
Identity of women voters wearing veil verified
The identity of women wearing veil was verified by female officers to prevent impersonation. At Kooliyad, around 130 police personnel were deployed to prevent untoward incidents.
“In Kannur district, polling was held at six polling stations on four premises, which are part of the Kasaragod and Kannur constituencies.
Around 100 police personnel each were deployed on the premises under the supervision of a DySP,” said Kannur District Police Chief G Siva Vikram. Security arrangements were tighter at Pamburuthi, an islet on Valapattanam river, and voters were permitted inside only after verifying their credentials.
Though several cases of ‘companion votes’ were reported, officers said all votes were cast as per the rules. The voting exercise was streamed live and monitored remotely, said Kasaragod Collector and presiding officer D Sajith Babu.
Another chance
At booth 19 in Pilathara UP School, K J Shalet, who could not cast her vote on April 23 as someone else had voted in her name, stood in the queue since morning and voted around 10 am.
FACTS AND FIGURES
CEO had ordered repolling after confirming bogus voting
Voting passed off peacefully
Tight security was in place to avoid untoward incidents
Female officers verified the identity of women wearing veils