Mixed poll trends in Kerala local bodies

Thiruvananthapuram : The ruling Left Democratic Front, headed by the Communist Party of India-Marxist and the Congress-led main opposition, United Democratic Front were in close contest as counting of ballots for local bodies’ elections started in Kerala on Wednesday, election officials said.

Initial trends coming from different districts of the state indicated that the UDF was in lead over the LDF in most of the municipal bodies while the ruling coaltion was ahead in village and block panchayats.

The UDF already bagged the Kalpetta municipality in Wayanad district, giving early blow to the LDF, and surged ahead in a majority of municipalities in the Muslim-League dominated Malappuram district.

The LDF was making good progress in Palakkad district .

The voting was held in two phases on October 23 and 25.