People standing in a queue to cast their vote at a polling booth in Vennala on December 9.
| Photo Credit: THULASI KAKKAT
The Kochi Corporation witnessed a rather sedate voter turnout through the polling day, though the turnout of 62.52%, as per preliminary data of the Election Commission when polling ended at 6 p.m., was marginally better than what was recorded in 2020.
In 2020, the voter turnout was 62.04%, which was a significant drop from 69.62% in 2015. Male voters exceeded their female counterparts with 64.44% polling compared to 60.76% among women. However, in absolute terms, 1.38 lakh out of 2.27 lakh women voters cast their votes, compared to 1.34 lakh out of 2.09 lakh male voters. One of the two trans persons in the electoral rolls also voted.
People standing in a queue to cast their vote at a polling booth in Vennala on December 9.
| Photo Credit:
THULASI KAKKAT
Two hours into polling, the turnout crawled to 12.31%, rising to 18.89% by 10.15 a.m. In the next hour, a 6.67% jump took the turnout to 25.56% by 11.15 a.m., and another 7.04% increase pushed it to 32.60% by noon. In the next two hours, voter turnout rose to 39.80% and 44.46%, respectively.
The polling percentage crossed the 50% mark only after 3 p.m. However, the anticipated surge was missing in the remaining three hours of polling, though long queues were seen in some divisions, especially in West Kochi. At 5 p.m., the turnout was pegged at 59.27% before closing at 62.52%. Minor variations are expected in the final figures.
Political parties were aghast at what they perceived as youth apathy towards the election, as the aged and elderly continued to dominate in most pockets. The migration of a large number of youngsters and alleged discrepancies in the electoral rolls revised post-delimitation were cited as potential reasons for the low turnout among the youth.
The United Democratic Front (UDF) raised the spectre of bogus voting against the CPI(M) in Puthukkalavattom and Nambyapuram divisions. Voting machines developed snags in some divisions, holding up polling for varying durations.
Published – December 09, 2025 09:50 pm IST
