The state will see 75,644 candidates contesting the upcoming local body elections, with women accounting for 52% of the total. The candidate list includes 39,609 women, 36,034 men and one transgender candidate. The transgender candidate is contesting from the Pothencode division of the Thiruvananthapuram District Panchayat.

Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Thrissur, Ernakulam, Wayanad, and Kozhikode districts lead in women’s representation.

At the gram panchayat level, 29,262 women and 26,168 men are in the fray. Block panchayats have 3,583 women and 3,525 men. In district panchayats, 672 men and 602 women are contesting. Municipalities have fielded 5,221 women and 4,810 men, while corporations have 941 women and 859 men.

In 2020, 74,899 candidates contested, including 36,305 women—48.45% of the total. The 2025 polls show an increase of 745 contestants, along with a clear rise in women’s presence, which has now crossed 52%. At the district panchayat level, men continue to outnumber women in both elections. Male candidates rose from 594 in 2020 to 672 in 2025, while the number of women declined from 685 to 602.

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Malappuram has the highest number of candidates in both elections—8,387 in 2020 and 8,381 in 2025. Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad and Thiruvananthapuram also remain among the districts with the most contestants. Wayanad continues to have the fewest candidates, with 1,857 in 2020 and 1,968 in 2025.

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