Overview
- Voting will be held in two phases on December 9 and 11 across corporations, municipalities and three-tier panchayats.
- The LDF finalised Kannur district panchayat allocations with CPI(M) contesting 16 of 25 seats, CPI three, and six allies taking one each.
- The Congress released its first list for 40 Kochi Corporation divisions with 22 women, named ex-CPI(M) leader V. P. Chandran in Vytilla, and fielded KPCC general secretary Deepthy Mary Varghese in Stadium division.
- Smaller outfits are set to broaden their footprint, with Twenty20 reportedly eyeing Kochi and nearby municipalities, WPI planning over 130 contests, SDPI pointing to its 2020 gains, and V4Kochi opting out this cycle.
- Delimitation and local rifts shape key battlegrounds, including Nedumangad’s new women-reserved wards and Thrikkakara’s UDF dissidence, LDF seat-sharing friction over two wards, and an ongoing Vigilance probe into the ‘Onam gift’ case.