Elections to the Kerala Assembly have begun, at the end of a high-octane campaign season. A two-cornered fight between the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and United Democratic Front (UDF) this election will also see BJP and other smaller parties in the state trying to gain votes and seats in the state Assembly. The state has 2.74 crore registered voters this time around, including 1.3 crore men, 1.4 crore women, and 290 transgender voters.
The LDF, which is predicted to win according to several opinion polls ahead of the elections, is trying to make history by winning a second consecutive term. The last time a front was able to beat anti-incumbency in Kerala was in 1977. The UDF meanwhile is trying to regain lost ground in the state and come back to power after a gap of five years, and is hoping that the trend of winning alternate elections continues.
There are 957 candidates in the fray this time, in 140 Assembly constituencies in the state. The candidates include Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Health Minister KK Shailaja, Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran, Power Minister MM Mani and Higher Education Minister KT Jaleel for the Left Democratic Front led by the CPI(M).
For the United Democratic Front opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala, former Chief Minister Oomen Chandy, PK Kunhalikutty, senior leaders K Muraleedharan (MP, Thiruvanchoor), among others are contesting.
For the BJP, prominent candidates are state president K Surendran, the party’s state secretary Sobha Surendran, former state president and former Mizoram Governor Kummanam Rajasekharan, metroman E Sreedharan and actor Suresh Gopi.
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