Picture Credit : @pinarayivijayan/X
Voting for the 140 Assembly seats in Kerala concluded at 6 pm on Thursday with people still standing in queues outside many polling stations. Those present at the polling stations at 6 pm were given tokens and would be allowed to vote. Till 5 pm, a turnout of 75.01 per cent was recorded, slightly higher than that of the 2021 Assembly polls which saw a polling percentage of 74.06 per cent.
In Kerala, where competition between the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the United Democratic Front (UDF) has traditionally driven high participation, 883 candidates are contesting from the 140 assembly constituencies.
The total number of voters is 2.71 crore and 78.27 per cent of them performed their democratic duty on Thursday. CPI-M leader C N Mohanan said an increase in the polling percentage would benefit the LDF because its workers had worked to ensure maximum voter turnout.
After nearly a month of intense campaigning, the southern state will go to the polls in a single phase, with voting to be held from 7 am to 6 pm across all 140 constituencies where 883 candidates are in the fray.
The electorate comprises 1.32 crore men, 1.39 crore women and 273 transgender persons, along with over 2.42 lakh overseas voters, underlining the scale of the electoral exercise, according to Election Commission figures.
The contest, though triangular, is rooted in Kerala’s traditionally bipolar political landscape, where power has largely alternated between the LDF and the UDF.
The outcome of this election will indicate whether that pattern holds or if the state is headed towards a shift.
For the Communist Party of India-Marxist-led ruling LDF, the polls are a high-stakes battle to retain power for a third straight term–an outcome that would be politically significant in a state known for voting out incumbent governments.
Led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, the Left Front has foregrounded its 10-year governance record, highlighting infrastructure development, welfare schemes and crisis management.
However, the LDF faces challenges, including talks of anti-incumbency and questions raised after setbacks in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and recent local body elections.
