KALPETTA: As dawn broke over the quiet border village of Bavali, the rhythmic hum of Kannada and Malayalam voices filled the only government school, now transformed into a polling booth.
Bavali, straddling Karnataka and Kerala, carries a unique legacy of voters who bridge two states’ cultures. It’s a small village where the election season isn’t just a civic duty but a cherished gathering, a reunion for families who migrated here seven decades ago from Karnataka. Here, 1,266 registered voters, including 658 women and 565 men, streamed into the polling booth in Tirunelli’s 10th ward. They came to the polls guided by P C Valsala, a familiar face in the village and the booth-level officer who, as an Anganwadi teacher, is fluent in both Kannada and Malayalam.
The village is home to Veda Gowda and Baguda families, as well as Adiya, Paniya, and Kattunayakan tribes, embodying a melting pot of communities engaged in farming and animal husbandry.
Voters reunited to cast their ballots and exchange stories, with over 90 per cent turning out in the last election. Despite the onset of farming season in Karnataka, many took a day off to cross the border and vote, showing a strong commitment to keeping their civic spirit alive.
In the nearby forest village of Chekadi, a polling season once again became a communal celebration. Known for its 94 per cent tribal population, this village in the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency saw voters traverse the chill and rugged landscape to cast their votes in the century-old government LP school. Among 1,210 registered voters, 645 were women, and around 20 elderly residents used the home voting system.
As forest villages require special security, Chekadi’s polling was held under tight security, ensuring that tribal communities, including Paniya, and Kattunayakan, could participate without disruption. As voting ended, the villagers returned home, ready to welcome a new harvest season.