Kerala starts to vote (Lead)

Thiruvananthapuram, April 10 (IANS) People queued up at polling booths across Kerala Thursday to cast their ballot for the state's 20 Lok Sabha constituencies.

The zeal to hit the voting button was evident across the state since Thursday morning as people turned up at the polling centres even before the start of polling time at 7 a.m.

In the 2009 general elections, state had recorded 73.37 percent voter turnout.

At sharp 7 a.m, voters across the state began to cast their votes and with rains predicted later in the day, many are not expected to wait till the last minute to cast their ballot. Polling will go on till 6 p.m.

In the coastal areas of the capital district, queues were spotted.

A 24 million strong electorate gets to select from 242 male candidates and 27 female candidates, vying for the 20 seats.

The battle is principally between traditional rivals, the United Democratic Front (UDF) and the Left Democratic Front (LDF).

State Excise Minister K.Babu was spotted in the queue at his home constituency in Ernakulam constituency before 7 a.m.

As many as 55 companies of security officials drawn from outside the state have been deployed.

The election officials have identified 10 percent of the total polling booths 21,424 as critical booths and most of them are in the districts of Kannur, Kozhikode and Kasargode.

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and his family will cast their vote in Puthupally in Kottayam, while leader of opposition V.S.Achuthanandan and his family will cast their vote at Punnapara in Alappuzha district. CPI-M state secretary Pinnarayi Vijayan will be voting at his home town in Kannur district.