Kerala Local Body Elections 2025: One of the counting centers in Thiruvananthapuram. | Photo credit: A. Jayamohan
Counting of votes for Kerala’s high-stakes local body elections began at 8 am on Saturday (December 13, 2025), with early trends suggesting a close contest between the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) across key local bodies.
Initial trends released by the State Election Commission (SEC) at 12:22 pm showed the UDF leading in 456 grama panchayats while the LDF is ahead with 372. The UDF is also leading in 54 municipalities, seven district panchayats and four corporations.
Also read | Kerala Local Election Results 2025 LIVE
Meanwhile, the LDF was ahead in 28 municipalities, seven district panchayats and one corporation. The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was leading in 27 grama panchayats, two municipalities and one corporation.
Here’s a look at how different local authorities are positioned within local government.
Voter turnout in local polls in Kerala
Two-phase polls recorded a higher voter turnout for women than for men, with overall voter turnout for men at 72.7% and for women at 74.5%. Transgender voter turnout was much lower at 40.4%. The total voter turnout was 73.6%
Kerala has consistently seen voter turnout above 70% in local elections since 2010, including polls held in 2019 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to SEC data. Wayanad district recorded the highest voter turnout of 78.2% and Pathanamthitta the lowest (66.7%).
Candidates in the fight
In the years 2020 and 2025, more female candidates took part in the local body elections. However, while the number of male candidates decreased between 2020 and 2025, the number of female candidates increased. The Government of Kerala has a rule of 50% reservation for women in local body elections.
A strong citizen presence is evident among female candidates, with 42% belonging to the Kudumbashree network. Kudumbashree is the state’s women-focused poverty eradication program established in 1979. Its members are part of a three-tiered network with Neighborhood Groups at the lowest level, Area Development Societies at the middle level and Community Development Societies at the highest level. Of the women running for office, 12,347 are members of Neighborhood Groups.
This is not a new pattern. A significant number of women candidates in previous elections were also Kudumbashree members.
Department after delineation
The state carried out a three-phase delimitation process that began in October last year. Completion of the first phase was crucial in deciding the voter lists for the municipal elections. The exercise ended in August this year.
Here’s how the number of wards changed after the exercise.
Published – 13 Dec 2025 12:21 IST
