Kerala Local Body Elections: Crucial Second Phase Polling Ends with Over 75% Turnout

The second phase of the local body polls in Kerala, which is crucial for all both the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) and United Democratic Front (UDF), ended peacefully in five districts on Thursday, with a polling percentage of over 75%. The five districts that went to polls are Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad and Wayanad.

A total of 98,57,208 voters including 51,28,361 women and 93 transgenders, were supposed to exercise their franchise to elect representatives for 8,116 wards of 451 local bodies in the five districts. There are 57,895 first-time voters and 265 non-resident Indians (NRIs) in these districts, according to the State Election Commission.

The second phase was held to elect representatives to two Corporations -- Kochi and Thrissur --  36 municipalities, 350 village panchayats, 58 block panchayats and five district panchayats are among the local bodies.

Wayanad had the highest turnout with over 78.69% polling. Kottayam had registered 73.45% polling, while Ernakulam had 76.22%, Thrissur 74.13 % and Palakkad 76.99% as of 6 p.m. The final figures are yet to come. If we compare the 2015 local body election data, Wayanad had 81.5%, Kottayam had 78.36%, Ernakulam 78.5%, Thrissur 76.5% and Palakkad 78.9%.

The elections are crucial for not just the traditional rivals -- Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led LDF and Congress-led UDF, but for the Jose K Mani and PJ Joseph fractions of Kerala Congress (Mani), KC(M). The split in the KC(M) had resulted Jose K Mani fraction shifting to LDF leaving behind their long term association with UDF.

The PJ Joseph fraction, however, maintained their alliance with UDF. Thus, the results in Kottayam, which is the traditional stronghold of the Kerala Congress (M), are crucial and would be a matter of prestige for both the fractions.

The Jose K. Mani fraction has fielded candidates for LDF in 424 seats, including 327 panchayat and 41 municipal wards, across the district. The Joseph faction is contesting 320 seats, including 242 panchayat and 33 municipal wards for UDF.

In Kottayam, the most intense political battle is in the Pala municipality, the home town of K.M. Mani, founder leader of the KC(M). Traditionally UDF had an upper hand this area and in 2015 elections, the UDF had won 20 of the 26 wards here with the KC(M) winning 17 seats. Since Jose K Mani, son of KM Mani allied with LDF, the political equations here are likely to be changed.

“Our shift to the LDF marks a change in the voting culture of central Travancore. However, we have initiated campaigns at the grassroots level to explain to our voters the factors that necessitated this change, which also included back-stabbing by a section in the Congress,” Thomas Chazhikadan, MP, senior Mani group leader, said.

The Congress camp is also hopeful of cashing in on the split of KC(M).  “This indeed presents us a golden opportunity to overcome the discontent among its workers about playing second fiddle to a regional party in the district,” a Congress leader was quoted as saying.

As the entire election procedure was in compliance with COVID-19 protocols, masks, sanitising and social distancing norms were made mandatory at all polling stations. Long queues of women voters could be seen in many wards of Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad and Wayanad since the beginning of polling.

Polling was generally peaceful in all the five districts and the voting procedure was smooth except for technical snag in voting machines reported in some districts.

Voters, who have tested positive for the viral infection or those placed under quarantine after 3 p.m on Wednesday, have been allowed to cast votes in their respective booths in the evening after all the voters have exercised their franchise.

After the first phase of the polls, held in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta and Idukki on December 8, all the three traditional fronts including LDF, UDF and Bharatiya Janata Party –led National Democratic Alliance have expressed confidence about their victory.

The third phase in four districts-- Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasaragod  -- would be on December 14. The counting would be held on December 16.

(With inputs from PTI)