Thiruvananthapuram, April 8 -- From producing rap songs and videos aimed at young voters to plans of distributing halwa at polling stations to first-time voters, the Election Commission in Kerala is pulling out all stops to achieve its voter turnout target of 85% in the April 9 Assembly polls.

Kerala's Chief Electoral Officer Rathan U Kelkar is spearheading the initiatives to motivate people to exercise their franchise and create favourable conditions for voters at polling booths especially in the harsh summer.

The average turnout in the state's assembly elections in the past decade has been stuck in the 70s - from 75.26% in 2011, 77.53% in 2016 to 75.6% in 2021. Reluctance to vote in major cities such as Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram an...