Second phase of key Kerala local body polls begins, CM confident of LDF win

Thiruvananthapuram: The second phase of polling in the crucial local body elections commenced in seven districts of Kerala on Thursday morning with the turnout crossing 8 per cent in the first two hours of voting.

Voters began casting ballots from 7 am at the 18,274 polling stations in the districts of Thrissur, Palakkad, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod.

Polling will conclude at 6 pm.

People of all ages and professions, including political leaders, queued up at polling stations since early morning.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan turned up to vote along with his family in Kannur.

Speaking to reporters after casting his vote, he expressed confidence about a historic win for the LDF and said that the Sabarimala gold loss issue would not affect the prospects of the Left front.

He claimed that the government took stringent action in the matter and if it were any other party in power, such steps would not have been taken.

Regarding the reported claims by Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief Sunny Joseph of a conspiracy behind the second complaint of sexual assault against MLA Rahul Mamkootathil, the CM hinted at the presence of a "criminal gang of sexual perverts" in the grand old party.

Vijayan said that such persons intimidated their victims to prevent them from coming forward.

Leaders of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), a key ally of the Congress, like Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal, P K Kunhalikutty and M K Muneer were confident of a huge victory for the UDF in the local body polls.

The KPCC chief said that the Sabarimala gold issue would affect the LDF prospects in the polls as they were protecting those involved in the scam.

The local body polls are viewed by many as a key indicator ahead of next year's state assembly elections.

In the second phase, over 1.53 crore voters will elect representatives to 12,931 wards across 604 local bodies, including grama panchayats, block panchayats, district panchayats, municipalities and corporations.

A total of 38,994 candidates are in the fray.

The first phase of polling in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Idukki and Ernakulam districts of the state concluded on December 9 with a turnout of around 70 per cent.

The results of both phases of polling will be announced on December 13.