Elections for 6,910 wards of 395 local bodies in five districts – Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, and Idukki – will be held on Tuesday in the first phase of the 2020 local body polls in Kerala.
Polling will be held from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. ensuring strict compliance with the COVID-19 protocols, said State Election Commissioner V. Bhaskaran on Monday.
Electors who have tested positive for COVID-19 or have been recommended quarantine after 3 p.m. on Monday will be given an opportunity to cast their vote in booths once all other voters have exercised their franchise. The five districts have, in all, 88,26,873 voters, including 46,68,267 women, 41,58,395 men and 61 transgenders. The electoral rolls for the five districts include 42,530 new voters and 150 NRI voters, the commission said.
In all, 24,583 candidates are in the fray. The polling stations number 11,225 with 1,697 in urban areas and 9,528 in rural areas.
Thiruvananthapuram has 28,38,105 voters,including 15,07,566 women, 13,30,516 men, and 23 transgender persons. The district has 6,465 candidates in the fray and 3,281 polling stations.
Kollam has 22,22,770 voters, including 11,81,231 women, 10,41,520 men, and 19 transgenders. The district has 5,723 candidates and 2,761 polling stations.
Pathanamthitta has 10,78,599 voters, of whom 5,75,858 are women and 5,02,738 are men. There are also three transgender voters in the district. Pathanamthitta has, in all, 3,699 candidates. The polling stations in the district number 1,459. Alappuzha has 17,82,587 voters, including 9,43,588 women, 8,38,988 men, and 11 transgender persons. As many as 5,462 candidates are in the fray in the district, which has 2,271 polling stations. Idukki has 9,04,662 voters, including 4,60,024 women, 4,44,633 men, and five transgender persons. As many as 3,234 candidates are contesting in the district. Idukki has 1,453 polling stations. As many as 5,279 wards in 318 grama panchayats, 675 wards in 50 blocks, 107 divisions in five district panchayats, 694 wards in 20 municipalities and 155 wards in two Corporations will got to the polls on Tuesday.
The commission has cancelled elections in two wards in the Panmana grama panchayat, Kollam, and one ward in the Chettikulangara panchayat, Alappuzha, following the death of three candidates. The commission has arranged webcasting from 320 sensitive booths.
Holiday
The commission has issued orders declaring Tuesday a holiday for employees of private establishments in the five districts so that they can vote.