Malappuram: Campaigning for the Nilambur Assembly by-election will end on Tuesday. Voting in the constituency is scheduled for Thursday from 7 am to 6 pm.
Wednesday is dedicated to silent campaigning. Officials said 91 counting officials and seven assistant returning officers have been appointed, PTI reported.
Home voting has begun for elderly and differently-abled people. Out of 2,302 voters with disabilities and 1,370 above the age of 85, about 1,254 have opted to vote from home. Postal voting started on Monday and will continue till June 16.
Meanwhile, police in Kerala have completed security arrangements for the by-election. District police chief R Vishwanath said around 1,200 police personnel will be deployed, including CISF, CAPF, and Armed Police Battalion forces. Patrol teams, Quick Response Teams, and border check-posts are already active. In Maoist-affected and other sensitive areas, special arrangements have been made under the Centre’s “Special Bandobast Scheme”. Security has been tightened at Chungathara Mar Thoma Higher Secondary School, which will serve as the strong room and counting centre, police said.
Malappuram District Collector and Election Officer V R Vinod said that more than 2.32 lakh people are set to vote in the upcoming by-election. The final voter list includes 1,13,613 men, 1,18,760 women and 8 transgender persons, with 7,787 first-time voters, 373 overseas voters, and 324 service voters, the Collector added.
Phone-free zone
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has instructed voters not to bring mobile phones into the polling booths. The Malappuram District Collector has requested that voters follow these instructions on polling day.