Kerala witnessed a vibrant second phase of the local body elections on Tuesday, with polling crossing 50% across all seven districts by 1 PM, driven by heavy voter participation in North Kerala. Long queues formed at several booths as Thrissur recorded 50.02%, Malappuram 53.41%, Palakkad 52.14%, Kozhikode 51.96%, Wayanad 51.16%, Kannur 50.13% and Kasaragod 50.19%. Voting continues until 6 PM, with all those in queue allowed to vote. While polling remained largely peaceful, isolated incidents were reported—voting was halted in Payyannur’s Perumba ward following an ID-related dispute, and a jeep carrying voters overturned into a river in Kozhikode, injuring five. A tragic moment occurred when a voter collapsed and died inside a booth in Morazha South LP School. After casting his vote, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan expressed confidence of an LDF “historic win,” asserting that the Sabarimala issue will not influence the election outcome.
