Polling for final phase ends peacefully

Thiruvananthapuram, May 3 (UNI) Polling for the last and final phase of Assembly elections in Kerala, covering 15 constituencies in Kannur and Kasargode districts, ended on a peaceful note at 1700 hrs today.

Heavy polling was witnessed in all stations from the morning.

Election Commission (EC) sources said barring minor incidents, polling was peaceful in the politically volatile northern districts.

Elaborate security arrangements had been made, with most of the 2,373 polling booths being identified as trouble-prone. Each booth was manned by five policemen. Over 9,000 security personnel drawn from Kerala, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu were deployed in the region and digital cameras installed.

Eightyfive candidates including CPI(M) state secretariat member Kodeyeri Balakrishnan, Congress (S) president Kadanappally Ramachandran and former Minister K Sudhakaran are in the fray.

The EC decided to conduct voting in these districts in the last leg in view of repeated allegations of mischief before the polls.

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