Palakkad: Over 1.9 lakh voters in Palakkad will vote on Wednesday to elect a new representative for the Kerala Assembly, following an intense month-long campaign for the byelection. Polling which began at 7 am will continue till 6 pm. It was preceded by a mock poll at 5.30 am. Distribution of polling materials, including voting machines, was completed on Tuesday.
The byelection was necessitated after Congress leader Shafi Parambil resigned as MLA, having been elected to the Lok Sabha from Vadakara in the general elections. A total of ten candidates are in the fray, with the key contenders being Rahul Mamkootathil (Congress-led UDF), P Sarin (CPM-led LDF) and C Krishnakumar (BJP-led NDA).

"If polling percentage drops, UDF will have a higher margin as only votes from other fronts will drop. Even if the polling percentage is high, we will win. This is UDF's sitting seat," Rahul Mamkootathil said on Wednesday morning.

According to the final voter list, 1,94,706 individuals are eligible to vote, including 1,00,290 women. The electorate also includes 2,306 voters aged above 85, 780 differently-abled voters, and four transgender voters. Additionally, 2,445 are first-time voters, and 229 are expatriates, the Election Commission said in a statement.

There are 184 polling stations, including four auxiliary booths, with 736 polling officials deployed. All polling stations are equipped with facilities such as ramps, toilets, and drinking water. One polling station and nine model booths will be managed exclusively by women officers. Webcasting of the polling process will occur in all polling stations.

The Election Commission has marked seven polling centres in three locations as sensitive and 58 booths as vulnerable. Enhanced security measures, involving central security forces and local police, will be in place at these locations.