Overview
- Public campaigning ended at 6 p.m. on December 7, with Phase I polling on December 9 in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Idukki and Ernakulam, Phase II on December 11, and counting on December 13.
- Phase I covers 595 local bodies and 11,168 wards, drawing a little over 1.32 crore voters and 36,630 candidates, according to the State Election Commission.
- Authorities have set up 15,432 polling stations and flagged 480 as sensitive with live webcasting and videography; mock polls begin at 6 a.m. and voting runs 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Districts reported poll-ready logistics, with Ernakulam arranging 3,021 stations and 7,490 ballot units, Kollam deploying 13,056 officials and 7,422 ballot units, and Kottayam setting up 1,925 booths with 9,514 ballot units.
- Campaigns featured a three-way fight between LDF, UDF and NDA, with rhetoric centered on the Sabarimala gold theft case and allegations against expelled MLA Rahul Mamkootathil, alongside shifting grassroots alliances that see allies contesting each other in some panchayats.