Voting for 8,116 districts in 451 local bodies in Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad and Wayanad districts will take place in the second phase of local body surveys in Kerala on Thursday. Voting will begin at 7 am and close at 6 pm.
Up to 12,643 polling stations have been installed and webcasting has also been introduced in 473 problem polling places. A total of 63,187 people have been deployed for the electoral service.
The Ernakulam district, which includes the Kochi corporation, has 2,045 wards in 111 local agencies. 3,132 polling places have been installed in the district for 25,900,200 voters. There are 272 problem booths. 15,660 people have been deployed for electoral service in the district.
7,255 candidates will compete in the Ernakulam district, including 400 in Kochi. In addition to the corporation, the polls will be held in 82 grass panchayats, 14 block panchayats, 13 municipalities, and one district panchayat in Ernakulam.
The first of the three-phase elections in the state saw a voter turnout of 72.67 percent, with 98,57,208 voters participating, including 51,28,361 women, 47,28,489 men, 93 transgender and 265 NRIs. The final phase will take place on December 14. Votes will be counted on December 16.
Of the five districts that went to the polls on Tuesday in the first phase, Thiruvananthapuram recorded 69.76%, Kollam recorded 73.41%, Pathanamthitta 69.70%, Alappuzha 77.23% and Idukki 74, 56%.
The turnout in the Kollam corporation was 59.73 percent, while in the Thiruvananthapuram corporation, 66.06 percent of voters cast their votes.
(With contributions from ANI)
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