Voting is underway in 12,391 wards spread across 604 local bodies in Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod.
Published Dec 11, 2025 | 8:41 AM ⚊ Updated Dec 11, 2025 | 8:41 AM
File photo of voters in Kerala. (CEOKeralaOffice/Facebook)
Synopsis: Polling for the second phase of Kerala’s local body general elections is underway with over 1.53 crore voters expected to exercise their franchise across seven districts amid heightened security and close monitoring by the State Election Commission.
Polling for the second phase of Kerala’s local body general elections began at 7 am on Thursday, 11 December, with over 1.53 crore voters expected to exercise their franchise across seven districts amid heightened security and close monitoring by the State Election Commission.
Voting, which will continue until 6 pm, is underway in 12,391 wards spread across 604 local bodies in seven districts: Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod.
The phase covers 470 grama panchayats, 77 block panchayats, seven district panchayats, 47 municipalities and two corporations, marking a crucial leg in Kerala’s grassroots democratic exercise.
A total of 15,337,176 voters are on the rolls for the second phase, including 72.46 lakh men, 80.91 lakh women and 161 transgender voters, along with 3,293 non-resident voters.
The contest involves 38,994 candidates—18,974 men and 20,020 women—fighting it out across different tiers of local governance.
Of them, 28,274 candidates are contesting grama panchayat wards, 3,742 block panchayat wards, 681 district panchayat wards, 5,546 municipality wards and 751 corporation wards.
For smooth conduct of polling, the election machinery has readied 18,274 control units and 49,019 ballot units, with additional units kept in reserve.
Polling will not be held in a handful of wards in the second phase of the local body elections, following unopposed victories and the unexpected death of a candidate. In Kasaragod district, candidates were elected unopposed in all wards of two grama panchayats, while nine wards across two other grama panchayats also saw contests decided without a vote.
In Anthoor Municipality in the Kannur district, the electoral battle has already been settled in five wards — Morazha, Kodallar, Thaliyil, Podikand and Anjampedika — where candidates were declared elected unopposed, eliminating the need for polling.
Meanwhile, voting has been postponed in Payikadam 7th ward of Moothedam grama panchayat in Malappuram district following the death of UDF candidate Haseena, casting a sombre note over the election process.
While polling in this ward stands deferred, elections to the higher tiers attached to the area will proceed as scheduled.
With the State Election Commission identifying 2,055 polling stations as ‘problematic’, elaborate security and surveillance arrangements have been put in place. Of the 18,274 polling stations in this phase, the highest number of sensitive booths is in Kannur (1,025), followed by Malappuram (295), Wayanad (189), Kozhikode (166), Palakkad (180), Kasaragod (119) and Thrissur (81).
These booths are under webcasting surveillance, with additional police deployment and direct supervision by the State Election Commission. Control rooms set up in district collectorates are monitoring the process live, under the leadership of City Police Commissioners and District Police Chiefs. Any unusual activity will invite immediate action, the Commission has warned.
At the Commission headquarters, two central control rooms are functioning, with officials from the Police, Excise, BSNL, IKM, Motor Vehicles Department and Keltron assisting in round-the-clock monitoring.
The second phase unfolds against the backdrop of a robust 70.91 percent turnout in the first phase of polling held earlier across seven districts.
Ernakulam recorded the highest turnout at 74.57 percent followed by Alappuzha (73.80 percent) and Idukki (71.78 percent), while Thiruvananthapuram registered 67.47 percent.
In city corporations, turnout was relatively lower, with 58.29 percent in Thiruvananthapuram, 63.35 percent in Kollam and 62.44 percent in Kochi.
As polling progresses on Thursday, all eyes are on whether the northern districts will match — or better — the voter enthusiasm seen in the first phase, potentially setting the tone for the outcome of Kerala’s local body elections 2025. The counting is on 13 December.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil with inputs from Dileep V Kumar and Sreelakshmi Soman.)
