The canopy spread across the courtyard of Palur LP School in Thikkodi was not enough to shield voters queueing up outside the polling booth from the scorching summer heat on April 26 (Friday) morning.
K.K. Shailaja, LDF candidate, at Kadathanad Rajas Higher Secondary School, Purameri. | Photo Credit: K. Ragesh
“It is not yet 10 a.m., and the line of voters is already stretching outside the premises. There is no cover. Some people have already returned home unable to stand this weather,” a local resident quipped. This polling booth along NH 66, near Koyilandy, more or less reflected the spirit of the high-pitched electoral battle in the Vadakara Lok Sabha segment.
Nagaland police personnel on duty at a sensitive polling booth at St. George High School at Vilangad near Nadapuram in Vadakara. | Photo Credit: K. Ragesh
Though voting started only at 7 a.m., some people had already reached their booths much earlier. But not many were fortunate enough to finish the voting fast as the polling kept dragging on, and long queues developed outside by 9 a.m. itself. Perhaps, it was this voters’ enthusiasm that prompted Shafi Parambil, United Democratic Front (UDF) candidate, a native of Palakkad, to reach there as soon as he cast his vote. “I voted in Manappullikkavu and reached the Shoranur Railway Station by road. I caught the next available train bound for Kozhikode,” he told The Hindu outside a restaurant at Kainatti in Vadakara town.
Voters of different age groups braved the sun to exercise their franchise at a polling booth at Orkkatteri LP School, Kunnummakkara, in Vadakara. | Photo Credit: K. Ragesh
Mr. Parambil was seen interacting with customers and staff. He was also happily obliging their demand to take selfies. “See, some people are not even allowing him to go to the washroom,” Revolutionary Marxist Party (RMP) leader N. Venu, who accompanied Mr. Parambil, said.
Mr. Venu’s party, though not an official ally of the UDF, is solidly backing the Palakkad MLA. Yellowish flex boards and posters featuring a beaming Mr. Parambil are seen outside a Shiva Temple at Orkkatteri near Kunnummakkara, where counters set up by the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the UDF lay cheek by jowl. ‘RMP-supported UDF candidate’ is prominently written on some flex boards on the temple premises that lead up to a polling booth at Orkkatteri LP School. A large number of senior citizens, including women, are seen outside and inside the booth there.
Voters queuing up to vote at a polling booth at Orkkatteri LP School, Kunnummakkara, in Vadakara. | Photo Credit: K. Ragesh
It was the women voters themselves who were more enthusiastic to greet K.K. Shailaja, LDF candidate, when she visited the polling booth at Kadathanad Rajas Higher Secondary School at Purameri in Nadapuram. Asked about the high polling percentage in the Thalassery Assembly constituency, Ms. Shailaja retorted, “I hope that is a good sign for us.”
Ninety-five-year old Kalyani Amma after casting her vote at Palur LP School, Thikkodi, in Vadakara. | Photo Credit: K. Ragesh
Only Ms. Shailaja’s posters and hoardings could be spotted outside the polling centre at a welfare centre for children and elderly at the nearby Karukulam. The scene outside St. George High School in Vilangad was sombre as gun-clad security personnel stood guard considering the politically sensitive nature of the region. Even around 6 p.m., many voters were still milling around polling booths in the constituency as police personnel started closing the gates. Tokens were given to those in the queue to help them vote. The day is still young.
