Kerala Assembly polls 2026: Despite slow start, polling in urban Kozhikode picks up by noon

Polling in urban Kozhikode for the 2026 Kerala Assembly elections started slowly but gained momentum by noon, with minimal issues reported.

Polling progressed at a low pace in most Assembly constituencies in the urban areas of Kozhikode on Thursday (April 9, 2026). There were even booths in Kozhikode North, Kozhikode South, Kunnamangalam and Elathur constituencies where voters could easily walk in without standing long hours in queues to cast votes in the initial hours.

“Despite a slow start, there was satisfactory growth in the turnout by 12 noon in most constituencies. As per official records, 50% of voters in almost all constituencies cast their votes by 1 p.m.,” said a senior Revenue official associated with supervision work. He, however, said that the percentage of voting in Elathur was low at that time compared to that of the figures from other constituencies in Kozhikode district.

No major law and order issues were reported from any urban constituencies, though a few Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers raised complaints of suspected bogus voting in Beypore. According to them, “impersonated voters” cast votes in many booths, and the matter was later taken up with the police by the original voters. They said the issue would be brought to the attention of the Election Commission with evidence.

With a heavy turnout since the initial hours, the polling booths at the Government Vocational Higher Secondary School, Payyanakkal, caught the attention of the election authorities. Long queues were visible from 7 a.m. at the spot, and they continued as such till the end of the polling process. A large number of differently abled and elderly voters cast their votes at the polling station.

People who went to exercise their franchise at Government Higher Secondary School, Karaparamba, were greeted by differently abled election officials. It was the only polling station that was fully controlled by differently abled staff.

A pink booth at Malaparamba was another attraction. It was fully managed by women officials. Decorations were done in such a way to reflect the pink theme, apart from attractive welcome notes to greet voters. Officials said there were altogether 67 pink polling booths, and voters were greeted to an entirely different ambiance which was created with a mission to empower women voters and promote gender equality.