A short while from now, the counting of votes polled in the high-stakes, April 9 State Assembly elections will kick off in 140 counting centres across 43 locations in Kerala.

The southern State, which has 140 constituencies, had witnessed a high-voltage electoral battle between the ruling CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Opposition Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) this time. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the BJP, which is hoping to reopen its account in the Assembly, remains a strong contender in several key segments.

Kerala had 883 candidates in the fray on April 9 when, as per the latest updates, 79.7% of the 2.71 crore-strong electorate exercised their franchise. The State went to the polling stations after a closely-watched Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll which saw the voter strength dip from 2.78 crore to 2.71 crore.

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