Thiruvananthapuram: The Election Commission on Tuesday said that of the 2,125 nominations filed for the upcoming Kerala Assembly elections, 1,637 have been accepted while 337 were rejected after scrutiny. Kerala Chief Electoral Officer Rathan U Kelkar said the final number of candidates is likely to settle at around 1,254 once the process is completed.

He said the election machinery is fully geared up, with around 1.75 lakh polling personnel deployed and undergoing training across districts. The Commission has also launched ‘E Vidya’, an online training platform for officials.

Highlighting measures to ensure inclusivity and transparency, Kelkar said efforts are underway to streamline voting from home. For the first time, media personnel will be eligible for postal ballots.

On security, the EC has sought 145 companies of central forces to oversee 30,471 polling stations, including 2,040 identified as sensitive. Kerala has an electorate of 2,71,42,952 voters, comprising 1,32,20,811 men, 1,39,21,868 women and 273 transgender persons. There are also 2,42,093 overseas voters and 53,984 service voters.

The Commission plans a special campaign targeting the 18–30 age group, aiming to raise voter turnout to 85 per cent.

BJP seal controversy
Addressing recent controversies, Kelkar termed the ‘BJP seal’ issue on official communication an “unacceptable lapse”, adding that it was rectified by March 21 and the official concerned has been suspended. A high-level inquiry led by Special Secretary P B Nooh is expected to be completed within 48 hours.

Meanwhile, the Kerala Police’s Cyber Operations Wing has launched coordinated action to curb the spread of misleading and harmful content on social media related to the elections. In a press brief issued on March 24, police said certain content, already clarified by the CEO, continued to circulate in a misleading manner as part of a misinformation campaign, posing a risk to the integrity of the electoral process.

With the Model Code of Conduct in force, authorities have initiated takedowns of such content in coordination with social media platforms to curb fake news, defamation, communal provocation and related violations. Police said strict action will continue against those spreading false information and urged citizens to rely only on verified sources.

Kelkar also clarified that the removal of such content was aimed at preventing misinformation. On BJP candidate B Gopalakrishnan’s ‘Hindu MLA’ remark, he said the video has been ordered to be taken down and legal opinion is being sought on whether the statement violates the Model Code of Conduct if made before filing nomination papers.