Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala – Candidates can start filing nominations for the state’s local body elections from Friday, the State Election Commission said on Thursday.
The polls will take place in two phases:
- Phase‑1: 9 December covers Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Idukki and Ernakulam.
- Phase‑2: 11 December covers Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod.
Votes will be counted on 13 December.
Nomination window
- Submission: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day from 13 November.
- Last filing date: 21 November.
- Paper scrutiny: 22 November.
- Withdrawal allowed: until 24 November.
Security deposits
- Gram panchayat seats: ₹2,000.
- Block panchayats & municipalities: ₹4,000.
- District panchayats & corporations: ₹5,000.
- Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes candidates pay half the amount.
Eligibility
- Minimum age: 21 years as of the nomination date.
- Reserved wards require a community certificate.
- Nomination forms must be signed before the Returning Officer after taking an oath.
- Candidates may bring at most three vehicles within 100 m of the Returning Officer’s office.
- No more than five people, including the candidate, may enter the submission room.
The State Election Commission released a detailed guide on eligibility and disqualification rules for contesting these local polls.
Scale of the elections
The elections cover 1,199 local bodies: 941 grama panchayats, 152 block panchayats, 14 district panchayats, 86 municipalities and six corporations.
A total of 2.84 crore voters—1.33 crore men, 1.49 crore women and 271 transgender voters—will choose from 23,576 wards and 33,746 polling stations.
About 180,000 election officials and 70,000 police officers will be deployed.
The local body elections, viewed by the LDF, UDF and BJP as a bellwether for the upcoming Assembly polls, are expected to set the political tone for Kerala.
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