Counting for the civic body polls in Kerala began at 8 am on Wednesday. At first, the postal ballots are being counted. The polls were held in three phases on December 8, 10 and 14 and all three phases saw impressive voter turnout of 73.12%, 76.78% and 78.64%, respectively. The fight for the polls has been a direct one between the Opposition, the United Democratic Front and the ruling Left Democratic Front. Both the fronts claimed that they would emerge victorious in the elections. The BJP, which also fought a fierce battle, has high hopes too, particularly about the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, where the party is in the opposition.
The three phases of the polls were mostly peaceful, except for some isolated instances, like a clash between a section of people and the police in Nadapuram in Kozhikode in the third phase of the polling. Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code has been imposed at five police station limits of the Kozhikode district — Vadakara, Nadapuram, Valayam, Kuttiyadi and Perambra.
The number of women candidates in this election is 36,305 while the number of male candidates is 38,593. A transgender candidate is also contesting the elections this year.
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