Thiruvananthapuram: Vote counting has commenced across Keralam, beginning with postal ballots, and early trends point to a tightly contested election. As the first rounds of postal vote counting unfold, initial leads suggest a close race among the major fronts.
According to early indications, the United Democratic Front (UDF) is leading in 66 seats, while the Left Democratic Front (LDF) is close behind with leads in 62 constituencies. Notably, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has emerged with a presence in the early trends, leading in five seats, an important development in Keralam’s traditionally bipolar political landscape.
Postal ballots are being counted first, having been brought from strong rooms to counting halls and arranged in bundles of 50 for tabulation. This phase is crucial, as it often sets the tone for early leads. The counting process is taking place across 140 centres in 43 locations statewide. Each round of counting is expected to take approximately 30 minutes.
Votes cast by an estimated 2.71 crore voters across 30,495 polling booths, along with those submitted through postal ballots and other approved methods, are being counted. Round-wise updates are being made available through the official Election Commission portal (results.eci.gov.in) and the ECINET mobile application. Authorities expect a clearer picture of the final outcome by around 10 am, while complete results are likely to be declared by 5 pm.
Meanwhile, counting is also underway for assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam, and the Union Territory of Puducherry. Additionally, by-elections to eight vacant seats across six states are being counted simultaneously. Across these states and the Union Territory, a total of 824 constituencies are involved. However, counting in West Bengal’s Falta constituency has been deferred to the 24th, following repolling scheduled on the 21st due to reported irregularities.
