Kerala Assembly Elections 2026: ‘Sweet surprise’ for first-time voters evokes mixed feelings

Kerala's 2026 Assembly Elections see mixed reactions as first-time voters receive halwa treats to encourage participation.

The ‘halwa’ campaign of the Election Commission of India (EC) to improve the youth voter turnout evoked mixed response among the voters in some of the constituencies in Ernakulam as only a few lucky could savour the ‘sweet surprise.’

The first-time voters who cast their votes at St. Little Tresa’s Upper Primary School, Karumaloor, near Aluva, were among the select few who enjoyed the treat offered by the EC. “We distributed it after making enquiries among the young voters if they were exercising their franchise for the first time,” said an election official at the venue. Those who received the treat informed the officials that they would have voted even if they were not offered any incentive as voting was their democratic right.

Disappointment was evident on the faces of parents of first-time voters at the St. Joseph’s High School, Angamaly, who did not receive 'halwa.' Election officials told them that the halwa packets were distributed only in selected booths in the district.

The EC had decided to distribute halwa to 200 first-time voters in each district. The District Collectors were told to pick the polling stations where the halwa packets should be distributed.

“But they should have extended it to at least a few additional booths as it would have come as a surprise for the first-time voters,” said a parent, who turned up at the Kesari Government Arts and Science and College in North Paravur along with her son. “We hope the Election Commission will make required amendments next time,” she said in a lighter vein.

The distribution of ‘specially branded halwa’ was part of the ‘Vote Sweetened Kerala’ campaign of the EC and it had carried the tag line ‘A sweet start to your civic journey’. Of the 2.7 crore voters in Kerala for the Assembly polls, 4,66,408 were in the 18-19 age group.