The by-polls in Thrikkakara assembly constituency held on Tuesday saw 68.75 per cent voter turnout. Ernakulam District Collector Zafar Malik said that a total of 1,35,320 votes were cast out of 1,96,805 voters in the constituency. Till 6 pm, 68,167 female and 67,152 male voters cast their vote in Thrikkakara. The lone transgender voter also exercised the right to vote.
The District Information Office said that out of 1,01,530 female voters, 67.13 per cent cast their votes while 70.48 per cent out of 95,274 male voters exercised their rights. As voting, which began at 7 am and ended at 6 pm, the electronic voting machines were shifted to the strong room. Counting of votes will take place on June 3. Meanwhile, the Congress party on Tuesday alleged that a local DYFI worker attempted fake voting, which was rejected by the CPI(M). CPI(M) state secretary, Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, alleged that it was the UDF that encouraged bogus voting.
However, so far no complaint has been lodged by any presiding officer regarding any bogus voting, police told PTI. Police said the tender vote was cast after a question of identity was raised against a voter.
As per section 49P of the conduct Election Rules, 1961, if a voter comes to know that someone has already voted in his name, he can approach the Presiding Officer at the polling station and flag the issue. Uma Thomas, the UDF candidate, told the media that her party would file a case against the CPI(M) for alleged bogus voting. The CPI(M) candidate is a well-known cardiologist Dr. Joe Joseph, while the BJP has fielded its veteran leader AN Radhakrishnan from this seat. Last year, the bypoll had to be held due to the death of Congress MLA PT Thomas.
The constituency, formed in 2011, had elected senior Congress leader Benny Behanan as its first MLA. In the 2016 assembly elections, PT Thomas got 61,268 votes, which was 45.42 percent of the electorate, while Sebastian Paul of CPI(M) got 49,455 votes. BJP’s S Saji got 21,247 votes that year. However, in 2021, Thomas won a little less than 59,839, while CPI(M) backed Dr J Jacob got 45,510 votes. BJP got 15,483 votes in the 2021 elections. Meanwhile, Twenty20, a political party backed by an industrial group here, fielded a candidate in 2021 and secured 13,897 votes. Even though Twenty20 has tied up with the Aam Aadmi Party this time, they have not fielded any candidate but have asked people to vote judiciously. The Left has deployed all its party machinery in the constituency which the Congress considers its impregnable stronghold. Several Left Front leaders, including Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his cabinet colleagues, and other MLAs were camping in the constituency to seek back seats from the Congress.
However, Congress leaders are confident that its traditional seat, which will remain strong with it even if there is a Left wave in 2021, will elect Uma Thomas, widow of PT Thomas, to the state assembly.
read all breaking news , today’s fresh news And IPL 2022 Live Updates Here.