Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 8 (IANS): Three prominent personalities,two of them former Chief Ministers and one Chief Electoral Officer, were unable to cast their ballot at the local body polls that began here on Tuesday.

Polling began at Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha and Idukki districts at 7 a.m. and will end at 6 p.m and by then the fate of 24,584 candidate would be sealed.

The second phase of polls in on December 10 and the last phase on December 14.

Veteran Communist and former Chief Minister V.S.Achuthanandan, 96, resting at his official residence in the state capital, was unable to travel to Alappuzha district, where his vote is listed. Likewise two-time former Chief Minister and former Defence Minister A.K.Antony was unable to cast his vote as he is recuperating after recovering from Covid in Delhi.

Before these polls, one had got used to the sight of Antony along with his wife and two children accompanied by his party colleague and present UDF chairman M.M.Hassan, walking to the polling booth to cast their vote in the heart of the state capital.

"He is under rest in Delhi and hence he is not here," said Hassan, soon after casting his vote.

In another interesting development, Teeka Ram Meena, who is the last word in all assembly and parliament elections by virtue of being the chief electoral officer, got a shocker when his name itself was missing from the voters list from the Poojapura division in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation.

Meena is believed to have informed the Thiruvananthapuram district collector, but despite that he wasn't able to cast his vote.

Incidentally Meena did cast his vote at the last Parliament elections in 2019.