Kerala local body polls on November 2, 5

Polls to the local bodies in Kerala will be held on November 2 and 5, state election commissioner K.Sasidharan Nair announced on Saturday.

Speaking to reporters here, he said polls in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Idukki, Kozhikode, Kannur, Wayanad and Kasargode districts will be held on November 2 and in Kottayam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad and Malappuram on November 5.

Counting will be held on November 7.

Nair said the electorate comprises 2.50 crore including five lakh new voters, who will select nominees to 21,871 seats spread out in 941 village, 152 block and 14 district panchayats besides 86 municipalities and six corporations. Fifty percent of the seats are reserved for women.

The last date of filing of nominations would be October 14 and the last date for withdrawal would be October 17, he said.

"The model code of conduct has set in now. There would be 35,000 polling booths and the voting time has been fixed from 7 a.m to 6 p.m. Results would be announced on November 7," he said.

In the 2010 local body elections, the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) won more than 50 percent of the total seats.

Speaking to the media after the announcement came, UDF convener P.P.Thankachen said that they are ready to face the polls.

"The performance of the ruling UDF government will be analysed and we are confident that we will do well. All issues of seat sharing will be sorted out between the allies," he said.

Meanwhile, the opposition Left Democratic Front also expressed confidence about its chances.

"We are going into the poll arena on a strong footing as we will be finalising our candidates in the coming few days," said senior CPI-M leader and former finance minister Thomas Isaac.