Kochi: The Left Democratic Front (LDF) on Wednesday released its first list of 70 candidates for the upcoming Kochi Corporation elections, pledging to turn the city into “the cleanest in the country” if it retains power. 

Announcing the list at a press conference, CPM Ernakulam district secretary S Sathish said the front would contest all 76 divisions of the corporation. Candidate discussions are ongoing for the remaining six divisions (Poonithura, Mattancherry, Girinagar, Kadavanthra, Perumanoor, and Panampilly Nagar), he added.

The candidate lineup features nine sitting councillors, 16 former members, and seven candidates under 40. Notably, women make up 56 per cent of the list, including four contesting from general seats -- Deepa Varma (Edappally), Sasikala S (Ravipuram), Reshma Ramesh (Karippalam) and Sheela Mohanan (Ernakulam South). 

Among LDF allies, CPI will contest in eight divisions, Kerala Congress (M) in three, Janata Dal (S) and NCP in two each, and Congress (S) and Indian National League (INL) in one each.

On leadership choices, Sathish said the selection of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor would be a “unanimous decision” after the elections. “Unlike the UDF, which has a history of internal disputes over key posts, the LDF will have one Mayor who will serve the full five-year term,” Sathish said.

However, he declined to comment on speculation that outgoing Mayor M Anilkumar, who is not contesting this time, may be fielded for the 2026 Assembly elections.

Sathish also hit back at Congress's allegations that the CPM was attempting to manipulate the voters’ list using fake rental documents and bogus applications.

“We suspect it is the Congress that may be resorting to such tactics. They claim to have added 20,000 new voters in the district, which raises questions about how it was done,” he said.