Thiruvananthapuram, April 13 (IANS) Polling proceeded briskly and peacefully in Kerala Wednesday with more than 30 percent turnout in the first four hours of voting. Both the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) claimed victory would be theirs.
With reports of lengthy queues outside most of the 20,758 polling centres, officials said the turnout could exceed the 2006 figure of close to 70 percent.
The enthusiasm of the voters boosted the morale of the two main fronts competing in a state that has never returned a government to power.
An upbeat Ramesh Chennithala of the Congress-led UDF said they would win 100 of the 140 seats in the assembly. The former state Congress chief is contesting from Haripad in Alappuzha district.
Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan was equally confident.
He told reporters after casting his vote in Alappuzha that the Left would win by a huge margin.
Achuthanandan then left for Malampuzha in Palakkad, where he is aiming for a hat trick of wins.
Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said after casting his vote: "Last time we had only two digit figure (98 seats); this time, it would increase to three figures."
Amongst the many thousands who voted was Thiruvallam Bhasi, a journalist from Melbourne who cast his first franchise as an NRI at a booth near this city.
"The presiding officer in my booth was surprised to see an NRI voter. I voted by showing my passport. He, in fact, asked me if I came specifically to cast my vote, and I said yes," said Bhasi.
A highlight of this election is that 8,862 non-resident Keralites -- 8,531 males and 331 women -- have registered to cast their votes.
Although polling proceeded peacefully, there were some casualties.
Police constable Hari Kumar, 47, fell down unconscious while on duty at the polling booth in Chadayamangalam constituency and was rushed to hospital where he died.
The poll panel stepped in to order the arrest of Bhaskaran Nair, a state government official who did not report for election duty in Kollam district.
About 22 million people, including nearly 12 million women, are eligible to vote and there are 971 candidates, including 78 women, in the fray.
Of the 20,758 polling booths in the state, 3,703 booths have been identified as "sensitive" - an official euphemism meaning they are trouble prone.
Approximately, 60,000 poll officials and 80,000 policemen are on duty.