The Left leaned on its decade-long record of development and welfare measures. The UDF drew confidence from its performance in local body elections and favourable exit poll trends. The NDA pinned its hopes on aggressive social engineering, new alliances, and a development-driven pitch.

With only hours left for the verdict, Kerala is gripped by anticipation over which front will form the next government. A higher voter turnout, tentatively pegged at 79.70%, has raised expectations across camps, each hoping it will tilt the balance in their favour, while the UDF also banks on anti-incumbency sentiment.

Officials started opening the Strong rooms storing polling materials on Monday morning at multiple locations in the presence of candidates or their authorised representatives, under the supervision of Election Commission observers, with the entire process videographed. Counting will begin at 8 am across 140 centres in 43 locations, starting with postal ballots, followed by Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).

A total of 15,465 officials have been deployed, including 140 Returning Officers, 1,340 Additional Assistant Returning Officers, 4,208 micro observers, 4,208 counting supervisors, and 5,563 counting assistants. Each round will cover votes from up to 14 polling booths.

During counting, the EVM Control Unit and Form 17C will be placed on the table. Any discrepancy between votes recorded in EVMs and those polled will lead to verification through VVPAT slips, which carry the candidate’s serial number, name, and symbol. The final figures will be cross-checked with Form 17C Part 1. Additionally, observers will randomly verify two EVMs in each round, while VVPAT slips from five polling stations in every constituency will be mandatorily counted to ensure accuracy.

2021 Assembly election tally
LDF: 99
UDF: 41