LS polls: Security arrangements elaborate in Wayanad

KOZHIKODE: Elaborate

security arrangements

have been put in place to ensure a

free and fair polling in Wayanad

parliamentary constituency where 13,57,819 voters are set to

exercise their franchise

on Tuesday.


As many as 2,000 security personnel have been deployed in Wayanad. They include personnel from the state police, Tamil Nadu police and five companies of central paramilitary forces –– the Border Security Force (BSF) and Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).

The security forces have taken over the control of the 72 ‘problematic’ polling booths in the district, including those facing Maoist threat. According to officials supervising the election process in the district, micro observers have been posted in all these 72 booths. Also, web casting facility has been set up in 23 sensitive polling booths.

The Wayanad seat, which was created in 2009, shares its borders with the Nilgiris of Tamil Nadu and the Mysuru region of Karnataka. It is predominantly rural and of its seven assembly segments, three are in Wayanad district, three in Malappuram and one in Kozhikode district.

Of the total voters in Wayanad constituency, as many as 7.62 lakh are form the four assembly constituencies in Malappuram and Kozhikode districts. The remaining three assembly segments in Wayanad district have 5.94 lakh voters under 575 booths.

The high land constituency has catapulted to national limelight this election after the entry of Congress president Rahul Gandhi as UDF candidate in the constituency.

He is facing CPI’s P P Suneer who is the LDF candidate and NDA candidate Thushar Vellappally .

While the constituency has 6,84,807 female and 6,73,011 male voters, it has only one third gender elector. Out of the 13,57,819 voters, 2,951 are overseas electors.