Thiruvananthapuram : As high as 70% of the 1.04 crore voting population of Kerala in 7 districts marked for Phase I had exercised their franchise by 5.00 P.M in the local bodies elections today (Oct.23). The voting ends at 5 p.m.
Maximum polling was in Thiruvananthapuram- 58%, Kollam-70%, Kozhikode- 77%, Pathanamthitta- 71%, Wayanad-76 %, Kannur-73% and Kasargod- 75%. Polling took place amidst tight security. A tab was kept on miscreants by using videographers. A bomb went off in Payynur (Kannur dt), injuring a few persons.

Sensitive areas were mostly in Ernakulam and Kozikode. There was a clash between two opposing groups (Muslim league included) in Kasaragod at Puthur. Bogus voting led to arrest of 2 persons in Kollam, sources said.

There are 87 counting centres in these 7 districts, where only 33% voting was recorded at noon. Thiruvananthapuram had over 23.68 lakhs of voters today Wayanad had the lowest of around 5.40 lakh voters.
The phase ll of another 7 districts, will vote on Oct 25, the EC stated.

Polling  Districts Details

Thiruvananthapuram
Total voters- 23.68 lakhs
Booths- 3417
Sensitive booths- 118
Total wards- 1657
Candidates- 6435

Kollam
Total voters- 19.5 lakhs
Booths- 2800
Sensitive booths- 89
Total wards- 1226
Candidates- 5337

Pathanamthitta
Total voters- 9.6 lakhs
Booths- 1687
Sensitive booths- 60
Total wards- 1033
Candidates- 3490

Wayanad
Total voters- 5.38 lakhs
Booths- 909
Sensitive booths- 49
Total wards- 560
Candidates- 1770

Kannur
Total voters- 17.09 lakhs
Booths- 2866
Sensitive booths- 1345
Total wards- 1736
Candidates- 4426

Kasargod
Total voters- 8.23 lakhs
Booths- 1424
Sensitive booths- 292
Total wards- 776
Candidates- 1424

Kozhikode
Total voters- 21.44 lakhs
Booths- 3,093
Sensitive booths- 396
Total wards- 1235
Candidates- 5,774