First phase of civic polls held in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram: The first phase of the civic polls across seven districts of Kerala was held today in which nearly one crore voters exercised their franchise.

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, 2,844 in block panchayats, 22,788 in village panchayats, 1,315 in corporations and 3632 in municipalities are in the fray.

Around 38,000 security personnel, including women officials, were 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.

The counting will be held on November 7. (ANI)