Bypoll: Wayanad witnesses brisk polling
Wayanad/Thrissur(Kerala) (PTI): During the first hour of voting, Wayanad Lok Sabha and the Chelakkara assembly seats in Kerala witnessed a turnout of 6.96 and 7.2 per cent, respectively on Wednesday.
People started arriving early in the morning at the 1,354 polling booths in the hill constituency of Wayanad where there are over 14 lakh registered voters, according to the Election Commission figures.
Some arrived early, while others wanted to get it over with quickly before more people started reaching the polling stations, they told reporters.
It is a holiday in Wayanad LS and Chelakkara assembly constituencies on account of the bypolls.
The Wayanad constituency comprises seven assembly segments of Mananthavady (ST), Sulthan Bathery (ST), and Kalpetta in Wayanad district; Thiruvambady in Kozhikode district; and Eranad, Nilambur, and Wandoor in Malappuram district.
A bypoll was necessitated in the hill constituency after Rahul Gandhi, who won the Wayanad LS seat in the general elections held earlier this year, vacated it after he also won from the Rae Bareli constituency.
There are 16 candidates in the fray for the seat with Congress-led UDF's candidate and Rahul's sister Priyanka, who is making her electoral debut, CPI(M)-led LDF's Sathyan Mokeri and BJP-led NDA's Navya Haridas being the top contenders.
Polling in Wayanad commenced amidst tight security arrangements which included deployment of over 2,500 security personnel and live monitoring of the by-election process by an extensive webcasting system.
Voting for the Chelakkara assembly seat in Thrissur district of the state also saw people turning up early at the 177 polling stations in the constituency.
There are six candidates in the fray for the assembly seat, where a bypoll was necessitated after LDF's K Radhakrishnan -- who won from there in 2021 -- was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Alathur constituency by defeating UDF's Ramya Haridas who had won from there in 2019.
Haridas is now contesting from the Chelakkara assembly seat and is pitted against LDF's U R Pradeep and NDA's K Balakrishnan.
There were close to two lakh voters in the constituency during the 2021 assembly election in the state.
Voting began in Wayanad and Chelakkara after a mock poll was carried out by casting votes in favour of all candidates, including NOTA, whose names are there on an EVM.
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CM Siddaramaiah warns of possible rainfall dip, stresses uninterrupted drinking water supply
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday said there is a possibility of a five per cent decrease in rainfall this year and asked officials to ensure that drinking water supply is not affected.
The CM gave these instructions at a meeting of additional chief secretaries, principal secretaries, and secretaries of all departments held at Vidhana Soudha.
“There is a possibility of a five per cent decrease in rainfall this year. District in-charge secretaries should constantly monitor the drinking water situation in their districts. Meetings should be held with deputy commissioners and zilla panchayat chief executive officers in this regard,” Siddaramaiah said.
“It is the responsibility of the respective secretaries to resolve the problems of the districts under their jurisdiction. Drinking water supply should not be affected for any reason,” his office quoted him as saying in a statement.
Pointing out that B R Ambedkar had warned against officials appeasing politicians, as it could lead to dictatorship, the CM asked officials to work within the framework of the law.
“Give suggestions to ministers within the scope of the law. Bringing a good name to the government depends on the work of the secretaries,” he said, adding that the administration should be made more agile.
Siddaramaiah said the role of departmental secretaries is crucial for the proper functioning of the state administration, as recognised in the Constitution. “It is the duty of all secretaries to act in accordance with the Constitution. They should not do anything against it,” he said.
Referring to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, India’s first Home Minister, Siddaramaiah said Patel had emphasised in the constituent assembly that secretaries should fearlessly and independently convey their views to ministers and not hesitate to speak the truth, even if it displeases them.
He urged senior officials to express their opinions fearlessly, independently, and truthfully.
The CM said implementing budget announcements is the responsibility of officials, noting that 15 announcements from last year’s budget are yet to be implemented. “Who is responsible for this?” he asked.
The government made a total of 565 announcements in this year’s budget, including 218 new ones, he said, adding, “It is the responsibility of officials to implement all budget announcements within the same year. They should not remain unimplemented for any reason. Bring any practical difficulties in implementation directly to my notice or that of the chief secretary.”
Out of the announcements in the 2026-27 budget, government orders have been issued for only five, he said.
“All government orders should be implemented, and execution should begin by May; otherwise, the respective secretaries will be held responsible.”
Siddaramaiah said delays in addressing public grievances could erode people’s trust in the government.
“This should not be allowed. Similarly, applications received under Sakala (a government initiative to guarantee services to citizens within a stipulated time) should be disposed of on time.”
Stating that immediate steps should be taken to fill vacant sanctioned posts, he said the finance department has approved the filling of 24,300 posts.
“There are 32,132 posts pending in cadres related to Kalyana Karnataka, and the recruitment process has not yet begun. The revision of cadre and recruitment rules is pending in some departments and should be completed at the earliest,” he said.
Under various centrally sponsored programmes, the state government released its share of Rs 22,768 crore in 2025–26, while the Centre released Rs 16,729 crore. Siddaramaiah said Rs 11,367 crore is still pending from the Centre.
He also directed officials to ensure that grants are utilised within the stipulated period.
Highlighting that contracts worth up to Rs 2 crore have been reserved for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe contractors, the chief minister said such reservations should not be bypassed by bundling works into larger packages.
“All works should be completed within the stipulated time. Construction costs should not escalate due to delays,” he added.
The chief minister also launched the new “Karnataka Progress Portal” and a handbook related to monitoring schemes, approvals, and inter-departmental coordination.
