The 2026 Kerala Assembly elections have begun, with all 140 seats witnessing a strong, multi-cornered contest. The ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) is seeking a rare third term, while the United Democratic Front (UDF) hopes anti-incumbency will work in its favour. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is focusing on select pockets to deepen its footprint.
With 140 counting centres across 43 locations, the process started at 8 am on Monday. A total of 15,464 personnel have been deployed, including 140 returning officers, 1,340 additional returning officers, 4,208 micro observers, 4,208 counting supervisors, and 5,563 counting assistants.
Postal ballots, accounting for 1.36% of the total votes, were counted first. Special counting tables have been arranged for postal ballots, with each table handling up to 500 votes under the supervision of an assistant returning officer.
Votes polled in EVMs from a maximum of 14 polling stations will be counted in each round, with a broad picture of the election outcome expected by the afternoon. Election Commission officials said VVPAT slips will be counted in cases where discrepancies arise between the number of votes recorded at a booth and the figures stored in the EVMs.
