Kerala’s much-anticipated local body elections entered their first phase today (December 9), with polling beginning across seven districts — Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Idukki and Ernakulam. Voting will continue until 6 PM as lakhs of citizens head to the booths to choose their local representatives.
A total of 11,168 wards across 595 local bodies are voting in this phase, covering 471 village panchayats, 75 block panchayats, 7 district panchayats, 39 municipalities and 3 municipal corporations. The large-scale civic exercise reflects the state’s strong grassroots governance structure, with village panchayats alone accounting for 8,310 wards.
Kerala’s voter list for this phase includes 1,32,83,789 electors, comprising 62.5 lakh men, 70.3 lakh women, and 126 transgender voters. The rolls also feature 456 overseas voters, highlighting growing participation from the expatriate community. Of the total electorate, over 1.01 crore are in panchayats, 15.5 lakh in municipalities, and 15.7 lakh in corporations.
The contest is equally impressive in scale, with 36,630 candidates in the fray — 17,056 men, 19,573 women, and one transgender candidate. Village panchayats alone have 27,141 contestants, followed by 4,480 in municipalities and 1,049 in corporations.
To ensure smooth polling, the Election Commission has set up 15,432 polling stations, of which 480 have been designated as sensitive. As part of preparations, officials have deployed 15,432 control units and 40,261 ballot units, with an additional 2,516 control units and 6,501 ballot units kept in reserve.
The first phase marks a crucial beginning to Kerala’s multi-stage elections, with voters turning out early to shape the future of local governance.
