Dates for local body polls to be announced at 12 noon, fronts confident, seats to increase, says BJP

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state election commission will announce the dates for the local body polls to 1199 local bodies in the state today. State Election Commissioner M Shahjahan will announce the dates of the polls being held in 23,576 wards at 12 noon today. The Left has decided to release their candidates list as soon as the announcement is made. Meantime, the UDF parties including the Congress will finalize their list of candidates today.

The BJP is trying to capture the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation and win three times the seats. BJP leader B Gopalakrishnan told media that the NDA will win four times the seats in the state this time. The Congress first announced he candidates and then the BJP. The Congress is trying to restore the lost glory in the corporation and take control of the administration with former MLA Sabarinathan in mind. The party has already announced 63 candidates.

The BJP announced the names of 67 candidates. The BJP is fielding a large number of experienced candidates in the capital city, including former DGP R Sreelekha, Padmini Thomas from the sports sector, and leaders V V Rajesh and Karamana Ajith. The Left Front will also field strong district leaders.

Left Front convener T P Ramakrishnan said they are fully prepared for the elections and that the declaration of Kerala as an extreme poverty-free state will benefit. However, KPCC President Sunny Joseph MLA also said the UDF will attain a good victory. Out of the 87 municipalities in the state, 44 are ruled by the Left, 41 by the UDF and two by the BJP. Out of the 14 district panchayats, 11 are ruled by the Left. The UDF is in three places.

The Left is dominant in the block panchayats in the state as well. Out of the 152 blocks, 113 are ruled by the Left Front. The UDF is in 38 places. Out of 941 grama panchayats, 571 are with the Left. Out of the 351, UDF and NDA rule 12 and others rule seven.