71.45% in 2004 to 73.33% yesterday, plainly translates to 4.12 lakh more citizens casting their votes than in 2004.
Here are the exact numbers, constituency-wise, for those interested.
From an impressive 81% in Kannur to an average 66% in Thiruvananthapuram, we've had our say about the incumbent government, about inflation, terrorism, development, caste, creed and so, to ridiculously alien subjects like Palestine, Israel and the likes...
How the common Keralaite will be affected if the Jews screw up Hamas is another question, but if some political party believes that finding alien life in Mars is going to influence our day-to-day life, then unfortunately there are sections of populace who'll nod to it.
While the spotlight shifts to the states in the next phases, the candidates, electoral and analysts have restarted their calculations based on the final figures available. Now how many times have they been proved completely wrong? Still, we do it to keep ourselves satiated.
Personally for me, the blues of being a non-resident Keralaite, being incapacitated to participate directly in the democratic process of my country for the first time in life, has been pretty melanchelous, I must say.
Why the NRIs, in spite of being a decisive vertebra of the economic nervous system, are debarred from having our say is as contemptible as it is iniquitous. Why couldn't the largest democracy of the world take a leaf out of its western counterparts, where being 18+ and holding a valid passport are good enough requirements to vote for your nation.
So until May 16, it is going to be a long and largely insomniac nights for the candidates and also to a good section of the public, who've got ample time to speculate about what lies inside them machines...
Lets wait, for the full monty..
