Brisk polling in Kerala in initial hours

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Brisk polling was reported from all 20 Lok Sabha seats in Kerala, with long queues in all places, right from the beginning, where voting is progressing peacefully.

An average of four per cent voters exercised their franchise in the first hour.

A total of 217 candidates are in the fray in the state, where the main fight is between the ruling LDF and the Congress-led UDF.

Prominent personalities in the field include former U N Under Secretary General Sashi Tharoor of Congress in Thiruvananthapuram, Union Minister E Ahamed (IUML in Malappuram) and Deputy leader of CPI-M in the Lok Sabha, P Karunkaran (Kasargode).

Both BJP state president P K Krishnadas and BSP state Chief A Neelalohithadasan Nadar are contesting in the state capital.

Barring a minor scuffle between UDF and LDF workers in the state capital, no violence was reported from anywhere.

The issue was sparked off by protests from LDF workers when Tharoor spoke to reporters, who bombarded him with questions at a booth in Jawahar Nagar in the city.

The protesters alleged that this created problems for other voters. The situation, however, was defused by police immediately.