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61.75 per cent polling in second phase in Kerala

Special Correspondent

Minor scuffles, bomb blast mark polls in Kannur district

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The second phase of the civic elections covering the districts of Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragode on Monday witnessed a voter turnout of 61.75 per cent, according to tentative figures released by the State Election Commission (SEC).

Minor scuffles between party volunteers, a country bomb blast that did not cause much damage, scores of complaints relating to bogus voting and a few charges of `booth capturing' were reported during this phase. Most of the incidents and complaints came from Kannur district, where the police had been expecting trouble. The polling percentage is likely to change when the full details reach the SEC from the polling booths. In the first phase of the polling covering the other eight districts on Saturday, the initial estimates had put the voter turnout at 63 per cent, but the figure came down to 59.94 per cent after the final compilation of the data.

Palakkad recorded 61 per cent polling, Malappuram 63.3 per cent, Kozhikode 62.25 per cent, Wayanad 61 per cent, Kannur 63 per cent and Kasaragode 60 per cent, according to the initial estimates. The polling followed more or less the same pattern in the urban and rural areas, unlike in the first phase where the urban centres witnessed relatively low voter turnout.

The country bomb explosion took place at Vilakkode in Kannur district. A CPI(M) worker sustained minor injuries in the incident.

While the CPI(M) accused the BJP of indulging in the `bomb attack,' the police were also examining whether the explosive had gone off accidentally from the hand of the injured CPI(M) activist. At Nedumbarachal, also in Kannur district, a country bomb was found abandoned on the roadside and the police defused it. Polling was disrupted for some time in a few booths in Kannur district, with the CPI(M) cadres allegedly intimidating the UDF booth agents and, in some cases, putting their fists to use.

In one case, the fracas occurred when the identity of a voter was challenged. The polling resumed peacefully afterwards.

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