Polling begins peacefully in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 22 (UNI) Polling began on a peaceful note for the first phase of Assembly elections in Kerala this morning, overing 59 constituencies spread over six southern districts.

Long queues were seen in some polling stations, while in most stations it started on a low key.

A total of 409 candidates are in the fray in Thiruvananthapuram, Pathanamthitta, Kollam, Alappuzha, Idukki and Kottayam distrivts.

Prominent candidates from the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) whose electoral fortunes would be decided in the first phase are Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, his Cabinet colleagues K M Mani, K R Gouri, M V Raghavan, Babu Divakaran, C F Thomas, K C Venugopal, Adoor Prakash, Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan and N Sakthan and Deputy Speaker N Sundaran Nadar.

Communist Party of India (Marxist) Central Committee member M A Baby, state secretariat member T M Thomas Issac, Students Federation of India state president Sindhu Joy and Former Assembly Speaker M Vijayakumar are the prominent LDF candidates who are seeking a mandate in the first phase.

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