204 candidates in Kerala, 86 nominations rejected after scrutiny; 2.77 crore voters

The Election Commission has rejected 86 candidates, from the 290 that filed their nomination papers for the Lok Sabha polls in Kerala, after scrutiny. With this, 204 candidates remain in the 20 constituencies in Kerala that will go to polls on April 26.

Chief Electoral Officer Sanjay Kaul said the final list of candidates will be published following the deadline for withdrawal of nomination papers, which ends on Monday. The most number of rejections (nine) were in the constituency of Thiruvananthapuram, where 13 candidates remain in the fray. In Attingal, 7 of the 14 candidates who filed nominations were rejected.

Constituency-wise number of current candidates (rejections):
Thiruvananthapuram 13 (9), Attingal 7(7), Kollam 12(3), Pathanamthitta 8(2), Mavelikkara 10(4), Alappuzha 11(3), Kottayam 14(3), Idukki 8(4), Ernakulam 10(4), Chalakudy 12(1), Thrissur 10(5), Alathur 5(3), Palakkad 11(5), Ponnani 8(12), Malappuram 10(4), Wayanad 10(2), Kozhikode 13( 2), Vadakara 11(3), Kannur 12(6), Kasaragod 9(4).

2.77 crore voters in Kerala
According to the Election Commission, Kerala has 2,77,49,159 voters in the final list. There has been an increase of 6,49,833 voters since the final voter list was published on January 22.

There are 5,34,394 first-time voters aged between 18-19 in the list, CEO Kaul said in a press release. During the voter list purification process, 2,01,417 individuals were removed.

Women voters in Kerala have increased by 3,36,770 and the total number stands at 1,43,33,499. There are 1,34,15,293 male voters, which includes an increase of 3,13,005. There are 367 transgender voters on the list, of whom 94 are in the Thiruvananthapuram constituency. There are 6,27,045 voters above the age of 80.

Malappuram district, the biggest
With 33,93,884 voters, Malappuram district has the highest number on the list while Wayanad district has the least at 6,35,930 (the constituency of Wayanad comprises parts of Kozhikode and Malappuram districts). Malappuram district also tops the chart for most number of female voters (16,97,132).

Constituency-wise voter list: Thiruvananthapuram: 14,30,531, Attingal: 13,96,807, Kollam: 13,26,648, Pathanamthitta: 14,29,700, Mavelikara: 13,31,880, Alappuzha: 14,00,083, Kottayam: 12,54,823, Idukki: 12,50,157, Ernakulam: 13,24,047, Chalakudy: 13,10,529, Thrissur: 14,83,055, Alathur: 13,37,496, Palakkad: 13,98,143, Ponnani: 14,70,804, Malappuram: 14,79,921, Kozhikode: 14,29,631, Wayanad: 14,62,423, Vadakara: 14,21,883, Kannur: 13,58,368, Kasaragod: 14,52,230.

NRI voters matter
There are a total of 89,839 NRI voters in Kerala this time, with the highest number in the Kozhikode district (35,793).

The last date to add names to the final voter list was March 25. CEO Kaul said that as part of the purification process, entries with similar addresses and photos were scrutinized by BLOs (Booth Level Officers) to remove redundant entries. Special teams led by Assistant Returning Officers were assigned for scrutiny, and BLOs visited voters' homes to identify and remove deceased or relocated individuals, ensuring an accurate voter list. Extensive purification process and awareness activities to include new voters were conducted statewide, said CEO Kaul.