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1199 of 1200 local bodies in Kerala[a] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 77.7% ( %) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Elections to local bodies (Panchayats, Municipalities and Corporations) inKerala were held in two phrases, on 2 and 5 November 2015.[2] TheLeft Democratic Front (LDF) won more than half of allgram panchayats andmunicipalities, and both they and theUnited Democratic Front (UDF) won majorities in seven out of fourteendistrict panchayats each. The LDF also won mayorship in fourcorporations and the UDF in two.[3][4]
Kerala Panchayat Raj Act, 1994 made provisions for the creation of local bodies at the village,block and district levels. The Kerala Municipalities Act, 1994 made provisions for the creation of municipalities and corporations.[5]
In total, Kerala has 1200 local self-governing bodies – 941 gram panchayats, 14 district panchayats, 152 block panchayats, 87 municipalities, 77taluks, and 6 corporations.[6]
There are three major political coalitions in Kerala. The Left Democratic Front (LDF) is the coalition of left wing and far-left parties, led by theCommunist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)). The United Democratic Front (UDF) is the coalition of centrist and centre-left parties led by theIndian National Congress. The National Democratic Alliance is led by the right-wingBharatiya Janata Party.
Chief MinisterOommen Chandy said the election results would be a verdict on his government. Former Chief MinisterA. K. Antony cited that the local body elections were the semifinals to the forthcoming2016 elections. Allegations of the finance minister of the stateK. M. Mani accepting bribes from bar owners was made a focal point of the campaign by opposition parties.[7]
TheBharatiya Janata Party (BJP) forged an alliance withSNDP in a bid to win theEzhava community votes. UDF had rebel candidates in various panchayats and municipalities.[8][9]Twenty20, an organisation backed by Kitex Group contested inKizhakkambalam grama panchayat.[10]
| Districts | Voter Turnout[11] | |
|---|---|---|
| District wise map of Kerala | District | Percentage |
 | Kasaragod | 77.6 |
| Kannur | 78.9 | |
| Wayanad | 81.5 | |
| Kozhikode | 80.1 | |
| Malappuram | 79.7 | |
| Palakkad | 78.9 | |
| Thrissur | 76.5 | |
| Ernakulam | 78.5 | |
| Idukki | 79.7 | |
| Kottayam | 78.3 | |
| Alappuzha | 79.7 | |
| Pathanamthitta | 72.5 | |
| Kollam | 74.9 | |
| Thriuvananthapuram | 71.9 | |
| Kerala | 77.8 | |
| Local self-government body | Local Bodies won | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LDF | UDF | NDA | Others | ||
| Gram Panchayats | 549 | 365 | 14 | 13 | 941 |
| Block Panchayats | 90 | 61 | 0 | 1 | 152 |
| District Panchayats | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| Municipalities | 44 | 41 | 1 | 0 | 87 |
| Corporations | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Local self-government body | Wards won | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LDF | UDF | NDA | Others | ||
| Gram Panchayats | 7,623 | 6,324 | 933 | 1,078 | 15,962 |
| Block Panchayats | 1,088 | 917 | 21 | 53 | 2,076 |
| District Panchayats | 170 | 145 | 3 | 4 | 331 |
| Municipalities | 1,263 | 1,318 | 236 | 259 | 3,122 |
| Corporations | 196 | 143 | 51 | 24 | 414 |
| District | Corporation | Wards won | Total | Alliance in majority | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LDF | UDF | NDA | Others | ||||
| Thiruvananthapuram | Thiruvananthapuram | 43 | 21 | 35 | 1 | 100 | N/A (LDF won mayorship later) |
| Kozhikode | Kozhikode | 50 | 18 | 7 | 0 | 75 | LDF |
| Ernakulam | Kochi | 23 | 38 | 2 | 11 | 74 | UDF |
| Kollam | Kollam | 36 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 55 | LDF |
| Thrissur | Thrissur | 23 | 21 | 6 | 5 | 55 | N/A (LDF won mayorship later) |
| Kannur | Kannur | 26 | 27 | 0 | 2 | 55 | N/A (UDF won mayorship later) |
Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) presidentV. M. Sudheeran said that the results show that the UDF base had not been affected much.[13] BJP state presidentV. Muraleedharan stated that it was impossible to fight an election in Kerala without taking their alliance into account.[14]
Twenty20 won 17 of 19 seats in Kizhakkambalam gram panchayat, thereby becoming the first corporate-ruled local body in Kerala.[15]
An Indian National Congress candidate forMananthavady municipality, who was the Congress District Committee secretary, committed suicide after coming in third place.[16]