Election picture to get clearer by tomorrow; 1,734 nomination papers accepted

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A clearer picture of the electoral contest will emerge from tomorrow. The deadline for withdrawal of nominations ends at 3 PM tomorrow. Kerala is scheduled to go to the polls in 16 days. While the candidates in the fray are already known, the impact of political undercurrents will become clearer in the coming days, which will ultimately determine the results.

National leaders of all three fronts have begun arriving for campaigning. Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, will visit Kozhikode today. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Palakkad and Thrissur on the 29th.

With the completion of scrutiny, a total of 1,734 nomination papers have been accepted. The nominations of Opposition Leader V. D. Satheesan and BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar were briefly set aside following complaints, but were later accepted after review.

The complaints included allegations that assets and gold holdings were undervalued in disclosures. In the Paravur constituency, LDF candidate Tyson Master filed a complaint against Satheesan. The Congress also filed a complaint against Rajeev Chandrasekhar, alleging that a house worth Rs 200 crore was not disclosed in his affidavit. Both complaints were rejected by the returning officers.

Meanwhile, political tensions escalated with the Chief Minister accusing the Opposition Leader and his team of defending a person accused of serious crimes. Satheesan responded by saying the Chief Minister should “look at himself in the mirror.”

1734 nomination papers accepted
The scrutiny of nomination papers was completed yesterday. No nomination of major front candidates was rejected. Out of 2,125 nominations, 2,093 were examined. A total of 1,734 nominations were accepted, while 356 were rejected and three were withdrawn. There are 1,254 candidates in total. Candidates can withdraw their nominations until the 26th.