Polling for the 20 Lok Sabha seats in Kerala will take place on April 26, 2024. Like in the past General Elections, Kerala will have its elections on a single day, in the second phase of polling of 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The election notification was issued on March 28 and the last date for submission of nominations was April 4.
Votes polled are to be counted on June 4, after the completion of the total seven phases of polling across India.
Key issues that dominate the poll narrative in Kerala range from the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act to the complexities of electoral bonds, the ragging incident at the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences at Pookode in Wayanad to man-animal conflicts.
The LDF has fielded heavyweight candidates against the Congress across the State, sending out a clear message that its alliance within the INDIA bloc holds no importance for the Left coalition in Kerala.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s frequent visits to Kerala have injected a new dynamic into electioneering as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) seeks to further bridge the north-south divide.
In the Wayanad constituency, a high-profile battle seems to be on the cards with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi once again contesting from there. As the political stage is set anew, the LDF has fielded Annie Raja, general secretary of the National Federation of Indian Women and national executive member of the Communist Party of India, to challenge Mr. Gandhi’s dominance.
In the Thiruvananthapuram constituency, incumbent MP Shashi Tharoor of the Congress is eyeing a fourth win on the trot, while the CPI’s Pannian Raveendran will be hoping to win the seat for the LDF for the first time since 2005. The NDA, which came second in the 2014 and 2019 polls, is striving to go one better by fielding Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar there.
With three high-profile candidates in the mix, Thrissur is another keenly-watched constituency. The Congress has fielded K. Muraleedharan. This came against the backdrop of Mr. Muraleedharan’s sister Padmaja Venugopal migrating to the BJP from the Congress. Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself launched the NDA’s campaign here in January for actor-turned-politician Suresh Gopi, while CPI’s V.S. Sunil Kumar is a familiar face in Thrissur constituency.
In the 2019 polls, the Alappuzha constituency was the CPI(M)‘s sole saving grace. This time around, the Congress is staking its claim there with a heavyweight in the form of K.C. Venugopal, the AICC general secretary.
In the fray in the Attingal constituency are the incumbent MP Adoor Prakash of the Congress, Union Minister V. Muraleedharan of the NDA, and a sitting MLA V. Joy, making it a rather unpredictable contest.
In the 2019 Parliament elections, the United Democratic Front (UDF) won 19 of the 20 seats, with the CPI(M) winning in Alappuzha, the lone seat for the Left Democratic Front.
