Kerala assembly polls: 12.1% voter turnout recorded till 9 am

About 12.11% polling was recorded in Kerala in the first two hours with Kozhikode district registering the highest and the state capital recording the lowest.

While Kozhikode recorded 13.16% turnout till 9 a.m, it was 9.62% in Idukki and 8.21% in Thiruvananthapuram.

The northern districts of the state-- Kasaragod, Kannur, Wayanad and Kozhikode- saw brisk polling. People were seen queuing up in various booths in the state much before the polling began at 7 a.m.

Overcast skies and heavy showers since last night in various places could impact the turnout.

No untoward incident has been reported so far.

A 70-year-old voter collapsed and died before casting his vote in a booth at Perambra in Kozhikode.

There were some incidents of malfunctioning of voting machines in some booths, but they were rectified immediately and polling was not affected.

Kerala Governor P Sathasivam and his wife cast their votes in a booth here.

This is the first time a state governor has exercised his franchise in the state.

Later, speaking to reporters, Justice Sathasivam said "as a first citizen (of the state), I request all citizens to come and vote. This is my humble request."

Former Meghalaya Governor M M Jacob also cast his vote.

Among the early voters were CPI(M) Polit Bureau member and LDF's Chief Ministerial aspirant Pinarayi Vijayan, senior Congress leader A K Antony, IUML leader and Industries Minister P K Kunhaikutty and BJP's Rajya Sabha MP and actor Suresh Gopi.

93-year-old CPI(M) leader V S Achutanandan was seen visiting various booths in his Malampuzha constituency in the morning.

He said heavy rush of voters in booths and the rains were a sign of "good tidings" to come. Rains are a blessing for the parched farmlands in Palakkad, he said.