Nearly 20 lakh new voters in Kerala

Nearly 20 lakh more voters will be exercising their franchise in Kerala in the April 10 Lok Sabha polls compared to parliamentary elections held in 2009.
According to the present electoral roll, the total number of voters in the state is 2,37,92,270 against 2,18,59,536 in the previous period. Of the total, 1,23,49,345 are women, according to the figure.
The deadline for submitting applications for new voters, to be enrolled in the list, ended on March 10 and the scrutiny would take place till March 22, an EC official said here.
The Congress-led UDF and the CPI(M)-led LDF are the main political opponents in the state which has a total of 20 Lok Sabha constituencies. During the 2009 elections, UDF got 16 seats while LDF bagged 4.

Congress, the lead partner in the UDF, will contest in 15 seats while its allies IUML in 2 and KCM, RSP and SJD one each.
Among the LDF opposition, CPI(M) will contest 15 seats while CPI four and JD(S) one.

BJP and new entrant AAP are also in the fray along with parties like BSP and Indian National League in some constituencies.
Union Ministers Shashi Tharoor, K V Thomas, Mullapally Ramachandran, K C Venugopal and Kodikunnil Suresh will be some of the prominent persons seeking next term from the UDF camp.
Former minister M A Baby and sitting MPs like P Karunakaran, M B Rajesh, P K Biju and A Sampath are among the leading figures in the opposition front.

Both the LDF and UDF are fielding two women candidates each.
CPI(M) leaders P K Sreemathi and P K Sainaba will contest from Kannur and Malappuram respectively while Congress leaders Bindhu Krishna and K A Sheeba will seek their luck from Attingal and Alathur.