Wayanad logs 62.91% turnout in LS bypoll, Chelakkara 69.39%
A total of 16 candidates were in the fray in Wayanad, where UDF nominee Priyanka Gandhi took on Sathyan Mokeri of the LDF and NDA’s Navya Haridas.
Kochi: The voter turnout in the bypoll to Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency, from where Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is making her electoral debut, on Wednesday stood at 62.91% as of 10.30 pm, according to the provisional turnout recorded by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
A total of 16 candidates were in the fray in Wayanad, where UDF nominee Priyanka Gandhi took on Sathyan Mokeri of the LDF and NDA’s Navya Haridas. Her brother had won the seat in the last two elections, with a margin of over 350,000 votes this year and over 430,000 votes five years ago.
District collector DR Meghasree said no untoward incidents were reported during polling.
The Wayanad Lok Sabha seat was vacated by Congress lawmaker Rahul Gandhi, who opted to represent the family borough of Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh after winning both seats in the parliamentary polls earlier this year. A heated election campaign in Wayanad, in the backdrop of the massive landslides in July that killed at least 250 people, saw Priyanka Gandhi Vadra of the Congress marking her debut in the poll fray against Sathyan Mokeri of the LDF and Navya Haridas of the NDA.
All three candidates toured several polling booths in the constituency throughout the day and interacted with voters standing in the queues. Good polling was recorded in the Chooralmala and Meppadi polling booths where most of the landslide survivors cast their votes.
Meanwhile, Congress MLA T Siddique blamed the LDF and BJP for the low turnout. “We have conducted our campaign including house-to-house visits in an efficient manner. But there was laziness and inaction on the part of the LDF and BJP especially in doing house calls,” he said.
“Our preliminary assessment is that a lion’s share of the voters who did not turn up at the booths today have affiliations towards LDF and BJP,” he added.
At the same time, CPI candidate Sathyan Mokeri said a section of the voters have frigidness towards the bypoll. “They are not those who vote for LDF. They are likely to be those who have affection towards UDF.”
BJP candidate Navya Haridas said the bypoll was imposed on the people by the Congress. “Naturally, there will be a section of people who are not enthusiastic about voting this time. But we are confident about our chances,” she said.
About 70% turnout in Chelakkara assembly bypoll
The bypoll to Chelakkara assembly constituency on Wednesday saw a voter turnout of 69.39% as of ECI figures at 10.30 pm. In 2021, Chelakkara (SC-reserved) seat had seen 77.4% turnout.
The bypoll was necessitated after CPM MLA K Radhakrishnan was elected to the Lok Sabha from Alathur. The Left nominated former MLA UR Pradeep against Ramya Haridas of the Congress and K Balakrishnan of the BJP.