KERALA BYPOLLS

Voter turnout drops by over 1 lakh in Wayanad bypoll, Congress worried over record majority

Kalpetta: Voter turnout in the Wayanad Lok Sabha bypoll dropped by over 1 lakh electors compared to the General Elections held in April. Wayanad polled 9,52,543 votes in the bypoll held on Wednesday, which is 64.72 per cent of the total 14,62,423 votes.

Over 5 lakh voters didn't turn up to vote. During the parliament elections held in April, the total polled votes were 10,84,653 (73.57 per cent). Rahul Gandhi, the UDF candidate in Lok Sabha elections held in April polled 6,47,445 votes.

The parties believe the predictable nature of the contest dissuaded voters. The sharp dip in voter turnout has raised concerns in the LDF camp, which was keen on bringing down the majority of Priyanka Gandhi.   Adding to the woes of the LDF camp, the clash between CPI and CPM, the major constituents of the front in Wayanad district, also came to the fore during the election campaign.   During the CPM annual meeting of party forums held recently, the role of CPI in the left front was a hot point of discussion as CPI has become a refuge for all the dissident CPM workers and leaders who walked out of CPM. 

None of the prominent national and state BJP leaders attended the NDA campaign. LDF poll managers, however, said that the low voter turnout reflects voters' protest against the UDF, as Rahul Gandhi's resignation was the sole reason for the bypoll. Minister O R Kelu said that the LDF campaign machinery was well-oiled, and results would be revealed when the poll results are out.

The UDF is worried about voters' disenchantment, which casts a shadow over their dream of crossing the 5 lakh votes majority for Priyanka Gandhi. The leaders claim that Priyanka would pocket 6,50,000 votes, more or less the same as Rahul Gandhi (647445) won in the previous election. LDF would get a little above 2 lakh votes, and the BJP would get around 80,000.  

However, unlike the last election, there was a lull in the Muslim belts of Nilambur and Wandoor and also in the Christian belts of Sulthan Bathery, which is a matter of concern for the UDF.    

The UDF central election committee convener A P Anikumar said that such a dip was quite unexpected. " We had conducted one of the best election campaigns in our history, and at no point did we feel any lethargy from our voters and workers," he said. As UDF was so confident in victory and even LDF leaders openly accepted that they were running to reduce the majority of Priyanka Gandhi, many UDF voters outside the state for jobs, education and business did not come to vote, he said. 

BJP also attributed the dip in voters to LDF's lack of zeal in its election campaign. BJP north zone president T P Jayachandran said that the confusion among LDF workers would benefit the NDA in the election.