Kerala Assembly polls 2026: Poll Preparations in full swing in Wayanad, district records 97% home voting

Preparations are in full swing for the upcoming Assembly polls in Wayanad. Home voting arranged for senior citizens and differently abled persons, which concluded on Sunday (April 5, 2026), witnessed enthusiastic participation, with over 97% of eligible voters in the district exercising their franchise.

Out of 4,438 voters, 4,317 cast their votes from their residences.

In the Mananthavady constituency 1,484 voters, Kalpetta (1,370), and Sultan Bathery (1,584) were registered for home voting.  Special care was taken to ensure voter privacy and maintain the secrecy of the ballot during the home voting process. After polling, the ballots were securely sealed and transported to designated centres.

Meanwhile, the commissioning of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) to be used for the Assembly elections in the district has been completed. Ballot labels have been affixed to the ballot units to be used in each constituency, and the ballot, control and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) units have been made operational and sealed.

In addition to the voting machines required for the 715 polling stations in the district, 20% reserve voting machines and 30% reserve VVPAT machines have also been commissioned and kept ready for use.

In the Kalpetta constituency, which has 227 booths, 272 ballot and control units, and 295 VVPAT units have been commissioned. In the Mananthavady segment, which has 251 booths, 301 ballot and control units, and 326 VVPAT units have been commissioned. In the Sultan Bathery constituency, which has 237 booths, 284 ballot and control units, and 308 VVPAT units have been made operational and commissioned.

The commissioning process was carried out at St. Patrick’s High School, Mananthavady, SKMJ High School, Kalpetta, and St. Mary’s College, Sultan Bathery. The procedures were completed under the supervision of the Returning Officers, in the presence of candidates and their agents. General Observer Sreedhar Babu Adhanki and District Election Officer and District Collector D.R. Meghashree visited the commissioning centres to review the process.

The anti-defacement squad removed 330 campaign materials during inspections conducted across the district on Sunday. These included 274 posters, 16 banners, and one other item of campaign material put up by various political parties in public places, as well as 38 posters and one banner displayed in private spaces.

With this, a total of 3,390 posters, 323 banners, and 226 other campaign materials from public places, along with 446 posters, 15 banners, and 26 other campaign materials from private properties have been removed in the district so far, officials said.

On the day, a total of 286 complaints were received in the district through the cVIGIL app and all of them have been resolved. So far, 4,346 complaints have been received in the district through the app. The public can directly lodge complaints through the app regarding violations of the Model Code of Conduct in connection with the Assembly elections.