KALPETTA: Despite inviting national attention for Priyanka Gandhi's debut election, Wayanad saw a fall in voters in Wednesday’s election. In Wayanad, polling fell from 73.48 per cent in May to 64.69 per cent in November. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the polling percentage was 80.33 in Wayanad.

Many media portals believed Priyanka Gandhi’s entry into the mountain pass of Wayanad would considerably increase the voting percentage. However, many such analysts had to eat their words on Wednesday. The rousing welcome and the grandeur organization for Priyanka Gandhi's campaigning was nonpareil and even bested her brother Rahul, the former MP from Wayanad. However, the fervour seen during campaigning was missing in polling booths.

On Wednesday, the polling percentage remained bleak in all the seven assembly constituencies of Wayanad constituency. Only Eranad in Malappuram district gave hope. Even Mananthavady and Sulthan Bathery registered poor voter turnouts. The majority of the voters were people over fifty. Youngsters were less in numbers as most teens in the district are currently abroad for higher studies.

It seems like the people of Wayanad are still not out from the trauma inflicted by the landslides. It was well evident in the booth set up in the landslide-hit Meppadi where voter turnout was considerably low. It resembled not a day of elections, but a sombre air prevailed all over Wayanad on Wednesday.