Heavy polling in Kerala by-elections (Lead)

Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 7

Heavy polling was reported Saturday in the three Kerala assembly constituencies of Kannur, Ernakulam and Alappuzha.

Till 2 p.m., Kannur recorded the maximum turnout of 57 percent, Alappuzha saw 52 percent votes polled, while Ernakulam reported around 46 percent.

There were long queues of voters outside most booths.

The elections were necessitated after Congress legislators from these constituencies were elected to the Lok Sabha.

At Kannur, paramilitary troopers have been posted at 129 polling booths.

"The response from the voters is tremendous, and victory is ours," declared Congress candidate A.P. Abdulla Kutty from Kannur.

His opponent and Communist Party of India-Marxist leader M.V. Jayarajan, in a similar vein, said: "The response to our campaign has been fantastic and victory is assured."

At Alappuzha, rain played spoilsport forcing the voting percentage to drop after it began on a high note.

Ernakulam has 137 polling booths while Alappuzha has 104.

Polling ends at 5 p.m.

Last updated on Nov 7^th, 2009 at 14:56 pm IST--IANS

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