Five constituencies fail to touch 70% mark

Thiruvananthapuram: Though the state recorded a polling percentage of 77.35%on Monday, there were five constituencies that failed to cross the 70%-mark, while five others barely managed to cross the figure.
They are Thiruvananthapuram (65.19%), Thiruvalla (69.29%), Attingal (69.38%), Kaduthuruthy (69.39%), Vattiyoorkavu (69.83%), Chirayinkeezhu (70.09%), Ranni (70.38%), Punalur (70.62%), Vengara (70.77%) and Aranmula (70.96%).Though there are several reasons why the poll percentage in these constituencies have dropped, the micro reasons for the low-turnout are yet to be assessed by authorities.
"We categorize the booths and focus on them to improve the voter turnout, especially stations where traditionally the voter turnout is low. This time, we introduced 'vote and win' programmes to encourage better turnout and this was a success. We will set higher targets in next elections," said Pathanamthitta district collector S Harikishore.
Voter turnout was high in northern parts, while the numbers were down in south districts. If the state were divided into two equal sections of seven districts each, the northern side had an average voter turnout of 78.74%, while the south registered a figure of 75.62%.
If the state was divided into north, central and south regions; the northern districts of Kasaragod, Kannur, Wayanad and Kozhikode had an average voter turnout of 79.8%, while the central region of Malappuram, Palakkad, Thrissur, Ernakulam, Idukki and Kottayam managed a figure of 77.03%. The southern districts - including Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta, Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram - posted the lowest score at 74.78%.
But there are aberrations too. For example, one among the ten constituencies - where the voter turnout was at its lowest - is Vengara in Malappuram where the League has fielded P K Kunhalikutty. But, parties cited a political reason for this trend. "Candidates in Malappuram usually win by huge margins. So, party workers may not show much vigour to bring each and every voter to the booth," said Ponnani MP E T Muhammed Basheer.
But, authorities also have another version for this phenomenon, which is similar to Pathanamthitta. "There are five constituencies in Malappuram, which traditionally have lower voter turnouts due to a large number of NRI votes. But the district administration's systematic awareness initiatives have definitely improved the overall figures," said Malappuram district collector S Venkatesapathy.