KOCHI: The 41 per cent voter turnout in Kochi Corporation, as indicated by the Election authorities, need not be the real picture, said political leaders. Instead, the real voting percentage could be anything between 55 and 65, they said.

The voters' list used for the election failed to reflect the real number of voters. Double entries and the failure of the authorities to delete the names of those who had died and those transferred out of the city from the list resulted in jacking up the number of voters, they said.

They also blamed the use of the voters' list that was prepared a decade ago for the 2005 elections. According to C.K. Manisankar, CPI(M) leader and a LDF candidate, the names of at least 500 voters were entered twice in each booth.

N. Venugopal, DIC(K) general secretary and also a contestant in the election, shared the views of Mr. Manisankar. In the Wellingdon Island North division, a large number of voters skipped the election and went on a holiday. Of the 2,913 voters in this division, only 707 exercised their franchise, Mr. Venugopal said.

Usually, polling at areas such as KPCC Junction, Ravipuram and places adjacent to St. Theresa's College, which can be considered as the heart of the city, is between 36 and 40 per cent, pointed out Mr. Venugopal, who had earlier served as the general convener of United Democratic Front candidates in Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Ernakulam constituency. Though the number of voters in the list in Kochi Corporation is 5.65 lakhs, at least 60,000 votes would account for double entry, dead or transferred voters, he said.

Official figures

In the Vathuruthy division, the voting per cent, according to the official figures, is 51 and the number of voters 2,500. However, the actual number of voters is 1,800 voters. Of this, 65 per cent voters exercised their franchise, Mr. Venugopal said. A.B. Sabu, UDF council party leader and also a candidate in the election, was of the view that at least 25 per cent voters in the list used for the election did not exist. The real polling figures would be around 65 per cent, he said.

C.M. Dinesh Mani, Kochi Mayor, alleged that a large number of "party families" couldn't vote this time as their names were not on the list. Though the reduced polling per cent in the election has caused worries among all the political fronts, the UDF and LDF hoped to garner enough numbers for staking claim for the civic administration. Both the fronts hoped to get at least 45 seats.

Counting on Tuesday

The first results of the Kochi Corporation election is expected to be out by 8.30 a.m. on Tuesday. The results to all the 71 divisions are expected to be out by 11 a.m.

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