Overview
- Chief Electoral Officer Rathan U. Kelkar has told district officials to pick select polling booths where branded halwa will be given to first-time voters.
- Each district will offer complimentary halwa to 200 eligible first-time voters, with booth-level officers and volunteers checking who qualifies.
- The Election Commission has set an overall turnout target above 85% for the Assembly polls, and officials say the halwa gesture supports that drive.
- Public health activist B. Ekbal praised the welcome but urged healthier options such as seasonal fruit, millet nutri-bars, or jaggery peanut brittle, citing high rates of obesity and diabetes among youth.
- Kerala counts 2.71 crore registered voters, including 466,408 aged 18–19, and a recent survey with the Centre for Management Development flagged urban youth apathy and called for focused voter education and campus enrolment drives.