2020 Kerala local elections

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. In total, the state has 1200 local self-governing bodies – 941 grama panchayats, 14 district panchayats, 152 block panchayats, 87 municipalities and 6 corporations. COVID-19 pandemic An all-party meeting filed a plea in Kerala High Court to defer the polls, which was set for November 2020, considering the increasing COVID cases. An ordinance by the Governor of the state, which temporarily amended Kerala Panchayat Raj Act, 1994, allowed COVID-19 quarantined patients to vote via postal ballots and increases the voting time by two hours. ==Parties and coalitions==

The LDF is the coalition of left wing and far-left parties, led by the CPIM. The UDF is a coalition consisting chiefly of centrist and centre-left parties led by the INC. The NDA is led by the BJP. Twenty20 Kizhakkambalam, officially a nonprofit charitable organization formed by Anna Kitex Group, fielded candidates in five panchayats, including in Kizhakkambalam where they had won in 2015. V4 Kochi, an apolitical organisation had 74 candidates contesting in all wards of Kochi Corporation. KJS, led by Poonjar MLA P. C. George, contested independently in four district panchayats, four block panchayats and two grama panchayats in Kottayam district. Thiruvananthapuram Vikasana Munnettam an apolitical organisation contested in 14 wards of Thiruvananthapuram Corporation. == Previous composition ==

Local body wise Ward-wise == Campaign ==

The president of the Kerala unit of BJP K. Surendran claimed that the incumbent LDF government would face a setback in the election due to the 2020 Kerala gold smuggling case, in relation to which the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's then principal secretary was arrested by Enforcement Directorate. The opposition UDF faced several infightings, one among which an alliance partner, Kerala Congress (M), underwent a split with the faction led by Jose K. Mani joining LDF. BJP faced factionalism between some of its top leaders and the state president. == Voters and polls ==

Voters list for the election was published on 17 June. The final list was published on 1 October with a supplemental list published on 10 November. As the term of the current members of local bodies end on November 11, three-member administrative committees would be formed and take over administration in each local body, in accordance with Kerala Panchayat Raj Act, 1994, and the Kerala Municipality Act, 1994. Kerala High Court dismissed petitions which alleged that reservation of local body constituencies continued for a third successive term citing that the court would not interfere in elections. 1.68 lakh candidates filed nominations to various local bodies, which was dwindled down to 74,899 candidates after the rest were either rejected or withdrawn. In total there are 34,744 polling booths; 29,321 in panchayats, 3,422 in municipalities and 2,001 in corporations. Phase I: Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha and Idukki districts Phase II: Ernakulam, Kottayam, Thrissur, Palakkad and Wayanad districts Phase III: Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasaragod districts == Result ==

Popular votes All of the three major pre-poll alliances in the state increased their vote share compared to that in the previous election. Local body wise Ward-wise == Aftermath ==

Result analysis All of the three major pre-poll alliances, LDF, UDF, and NDA, improved their vote share compared to that in the previous election. The result showed popular support in favour of LDF led government, led by Pinarayi Vijayan. Jose K. Mani faction of Kerala Congress (M), which left UDF to join LDF, performed well in traditional UDF strongholds in Kottayam, Pathanamthitta and Idukki districts. UDF improved its position in the districts of Ernakulam and Malappuram.Wayanad District Panchayat, Which Is A Stronghold Of UDF, Could Only Be Won By UDF On Tossing. Reactions Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan hailed his alliance's victory as that of secularism and inclusive development, while remarking that the results were a befitting reply to UDF and BJP. Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala said that UDF voter base was intact highlighting that they had won more municipalities and mentioned that he would introspect into their poor performance in Thiruvananthapuram corporation. BJP national president J. P. Nadda and state president K. Surendran thanked the voters for providing an improved mandate to their party in the election TREND software error The final results of a few panchayats and municipalities were changed due to an error in the TREND software, which was used for displaying election results, as per the State Election Commission. This meant that the lead UDF had over LDF in municipalities was cut from 10 municipalities to 4. The Election Commission published the results in its official website after rectifying the error. LDF also controls 11 district panchayats, while UDF got the remaining 3. The latter assumed control of Wayanad district panchayat after drawing lots. Reshma Mariam Roy, who was the youngest candidate in the elections, became the youngest ever president of a panchayat in Kerala at 21 years old after being elected as the president of Aruvappulam Grama panchayat in Pathanamthitta. She had filed her nomination on November 18, days before she turned 21. == See also ==