Nearly 50 percent turnout in Kerala

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Nearly 50 per cent of voters exercised their franchise in Kerala till 1 p.m. Wednesday to elect a new 140-member assembly, officials said. According to figures released by the chief electoral officer, the state saw brisk voting in the first six hours of polling with the turnout at 48.5 percent. The polling started at 7 a.m. and ends at 5 p.m.

Kannur district saw the highest voter turnout at 53.20 per cent and the lowest was 43 per cent in Thiruvananthapuram.

The enthusiasm of the voters boosted the morale of the two main fronts competing in a state that has never returned a government to power.

An upbeat Ramesh Chennithala of the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) said they would win 100 of the 140 seats in the assembly. The former state Congress chief is contesting from Haripad in Alappuzha district.

Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan was equally confident.

He told reporters after casting his vote in Alappuzha that the Left would win by a huge margin.

Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said after casting his vote: "Last time we had only two digit figure (98 seats); this time, it would increase to three figures."

Defence Minister A.K. Antony, who was the star campaigner for the UDF, came with his wife to cast his vote here. He said there is no doubt that the people badly want a change in governance.

With reports of lengthy queues outside most of the 20,758 polling centres, officials said the turnout could exceed the 2006 figure of 72.27 percent.

Film star Suresh Gopi, dressed in a white shirt and trouser, said it was nice to see people turn out in good numbers to vote.

"This is the reason why I decided to come and cast my vote early, so it could send the message to those who are at home to come out and vote," he said.

Gopi and his co-star and popular comedian Jagdeesh campaigned for UDF candidates in several constituencies.

"People should come and vote because it will only help to strengthen democracy," said Jagdeesh.

Both the actors voted in Thiruvananthapuram.

But actress Kavya Madhavan managed to ruffle a few voters in Ernakulam district when she was allowed to break the queue.

Following a brief argument, Kavya said she would come later to cast her vote.

Among the many thousands who voted was Thiruvallam Bhasi, a journalist from Melbourne registered as an NRI voter.

"The presiding officer in my booth was surprised to see an NRI voter. I voted by showing my passport. He, in fact, asked me if I had come specifically to cast my vote, and I said yes," said Bhasi.

A highlight of this election is that 8,862 non-resident Keralites - 8,531 males and 331 women - have been registered to vote.

Although polling proceeded peacefully, there were some casualties.

Police constable Hari Kumar, 47, fell down unconscious while on duty at the polling booth in Chadayamangalam constituency and was rushed to hospital where he died.

Of the 20,758 polling booths in the state, 3,703 booths have been identified as 'sensitive' - an official euphemism meaning they are trouble prone.

Approximately, 60,000 poll officials and 80,000 policemen are on duty.

The poll panel also ordered the arrest of Bhaskaran Nair, a state government official for not reporting for election duty in Kollam district.

About 22 million people, including nearly 12 million women, are eligible to vote and there are 971 candidates, including 78 women, in the fray.