First phase of civic polls in Kerala on Monday

Kochi: The first phase of the civic polls in Kerala will be held tomorrow where over one crore voters are expected to exercise their franchise in seven districts.

The Congress-led United Democratic Front and the CPM-led Left Democratic Front will face stiff competition from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the polls.

Campaigning in the seven districts of Kollam, Idukki, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kasaragod, Kannur and Thiruvananthapuram, ended on a peaceful note on Saturday evening.

In the first phase, a total of 31,161 candidates, including 582 in district panchayats, 2844 in block panchayats, 22,788 in village panchayats, 1315 in corporations and 3632 in municipalities are in the fray.

Around 38,000 security personnel, including women officials, have been deployed for the smooth conduct of voting in the initial phase.

The polls in the remaining seven districts of Alappuzha, Thrissur, Pathanamthitta, Ernakulam, Kottayam, Malappuram and Palakkad will be held in the second phase on November 5.