Kerala: Polls over, long wait for candidates, voters

The adjacent Kannur, where CPI-M's woman leader PK Sreemathy took on sitting Congress MP K Sudhakaran, is a close runner up recording a turn out of 81.32 per cent.

Pathanamthitta in south Kerala, an area that tops in social development indices, reported negative birth rate, had the lowest voter turn out of 66.01 per cent. The turn-out of 68.69 was not high by the state's standards in Thiruvananthapuram, where Union Minister Shashi Tharoor is engaged in a three-cornered fight with CPI's Bennet Abraham and BJP's O Rajagopal. Attingal recorded 68.77 per cent polling.

Even as the sound and fury of the election season has subsided, different political camps are still continuing their claims and counter claims premising their forecasts on the voter turn out. Political analysts, however, have adopted the "wait-and-see" approach, refraining from hazarding any forecasts in favour of the two coalitions that dominate the scene in the state.

Polling in other Loksabha segments came at Kasargode -78.49 per cent, Wynad – 73.28, Kozhikode – 79.80, Malappuram – 71.27, Ponnani – 73.83, Plalakkad – 75.39, Alathur – 76.45, Thrissur – 72.15, Chalakkudi – 76.94, Ernakulam – 73.56, Idukki – 70.66, Kottayam – 71.70, Alappuzha – 78.78, Mavelikkara – 71.35 and Kollam with 72.12 per cent.