75,632 candidates in fray for 2025 Kerala local body polls. Malappuram tops

A day after the deadline for the withdrawal of nominations, the local body polls picture is clear for Kerala. 75,632 candidates will engage in a contest for 23,576 wards in the 2025 local body elections to be held on December 9 and 11. Of these, 52.36 per cent are women.

Malappuram, with 8378, has the highest number of candidates. It is also the only district with a lesser number of female candidates: 4017 females for 4361 males.

The final figures were published by the State Election Commission late on Tuesday. The deadline for the withdrawal of nominations was 3 pm on Monday, November 24.

The other districts with a high number of candidates are: Ernakulam (7374), Thrissur (7284), Palakkad (6724), Kozhikode (6328), Thiruvananthapuram (6310), Kollam (5615), Kannur (5469), Alappuzha (5395), and Kottayam (5284). There are four districts with less than 4000 candidates: Pathanamthitta (3549), Idukki (3100), Kasaragod (2855), and Wayanad (1967).

There is just one transgender candidate: Amaya Prasad, who contests from the Pothencode division, reserved for women, of the Thiruvananthapuram District Panchayat. The other transwoman candidate, Arunima M Kurup, who contests from the Vayalar division of Alappuzha District Panchayat, has been recorded as a woman.

The local body polls will be held in two phases on December 9 and 11. Seven southern districts (Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Idukki, Alappuzha and Ernakulam) will go to the polls on Tuesday, December 9.

The rest (Thrissur, Malappuram, Wayanad, Palakkad, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasaragod) will vote on Thursday, December 11. The votes will be counted on Saturday, December 13. In the last 2020 polls, 75,013 candidates vied for 21865 wards.