The Kerala local body election was held by the Kerala State Election Commission in three phases this month. Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the first phase of the three-tier local body polls in Kerala concluded on a peaceful note on Tuesday with a turnout of 72.67 per cent recorded in five districts, with the ruling CPI(M)-led LDF, Congress-headed UDF and BJP-NDA locking horns in a majority of wards. The second phase of the local body polls in five central districts of Kerala held on Thursday saw brisk participation of voters with 76.28 per cent turnout as per the latest figures issued by the state election commission. The third and the final phase of the local body polls concluded in Kerala on Monday in the four northernmost districts, with 78.62 per cent turnout being recorded, according to the State Election Commission. As per latest details issued by the SEC, Kozhikode district recorded the highest turnout with 78.98 per cent, followed by Malappuram (78.86) and Kannur 77.54) Kasaragod recorded the lowest voter turnout with 77.14 per cent.
The local body polls are crucial for the two traditional fronts in Kerala- the ruling CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front, Congress-headed United Democratic Front--besides the BJP-NDA as the Assembly election is being held next year. The polls were originally due in November but were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
LIVE UPDATES:
10:17 am: Strong competition between LDF and BJP to capture the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation
10:15 am: "It was a sure seat. I can't say what happened. There was no problem in the party. There was a problem with the voting machine. That may be the reason for BJP's victory. I've not decided to go to court with voting machine issue so far. Will check what happened exactly," Congress Mayor candidate N Venugopal who lost to BJP rival by 1 vote.
10:00 am: Early indicators are encouraging, says BJP's BL Santosh
For any comparison , in 2015 @BJP4Keralam had won 1205 wards & NDA another 39 ... LDF 10340 ... UDF 8847 ... Ind 1418 wards . Early indicators are encouraging .
— B L Santhosh (@blsanthosh) December 16, 2020
9:51 am: Update
Grama Panchayat
LDF-312
UDF-292
OTH-42
NDA-25
BLOCK Panchayat
LDF-82
UDF-57
NDA-3
OTH-1
District Panchayat
LDF-9
UDF-5-
NDA-0
Corporation
LDF-3
UDF-3
Municipalities-
UDF-39
LDF-37
OTH-6
NDA-4
9:50 am: Congress Mayor candidate in Kochi corporation loses to BJP candidate by 1 vote.
Congress candidate N Venugopal (181 votes) lost to T Padmakumari (182) of BJP in Island North ward.
However. UDF remains the single largest coalition in the corporation with lead in 17 seats, followed by LDF in 16 seats.
9:30 am: According to early trends, LDF leads in 17 seats, NDA in 9