AK Antony predicts UDF sweep in Kerala, says Pinarayi's time is over

Senior Congress leader AK Antony predicts a "clean sweep" for the UDF in the Kerala elections, asserting that the people want to "send off" the current Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF government and that the BJP is a 'non-Kerala' party.

Senior Congress leader AK Antony on Thursday stressed that the Keralam elections would be a "sweep" for United Democratic Front (UDF), adding that people want to "send off" the current Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) regime. Speaking to reporters, Antony further took a jibe at the BJP, calling them a 'non-Kerala' party, asserting that there is "something wrong" with them. "Election is a clear verdict of the people. People want to send off this present LDF government. UDF will have a clean sweep in Keralam. After the counting, UDF will form the government. LDF will sit in the opposition, and they will start discussing about what went wrong for this miserable defeat. BJP, that is not Kerala party. Kerala people don't like BJP. Vast majority of the people of Kerala will vote against the present government. According to me, Pinarayi government's time is over. Ten years of misrule, something wrong with them (BJP)," AK Antony told reporters.

Election Day Details and Voter Statistics

Earlier today, Antony cast his vote at the Govt GHS Jagathy polling station in Thiruvananthapuram. Meanwhile, voter turnout was 16.2 per cent at 9 AM, as per the Election Commission of India.

In Keralam, over 2.6 crore electors will decide the fate of 883 candidates across 140 constituencies. Of the 2,69,53,644 registered voters across the state, there are 1,38,27,319 women voters and the number of male voters stands at 1,31,26,048. Officials said 277 voters have been registered in the 'third gender category.'Among the electorate, nearly 4,24,518 voters fall in the 18-19 age group, while 2,04,608 voters are aged 85 years and above

Logistics and Security Measures

To facilitate safe and secure polling, a total of 30,471 polling stations have been set up, which comprises 119 logistic and voter machine distribution centres and 41 vote counting centres.

Keralam Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Rathan U Kelkar on Tuesday said that 1.46 lakh trained polling personnel have been dispatched to polling stations. "As part of the arrangements for Kerala Assembly elections, we have the total electorate of 2.71 crores, and the service voters are 53,984. We will be counting the votes in 140 strong rooms and 43 locations. We have 1.46 lakh polling personnel who have been trained and will be dispatched to all the polling stations," he said

"We have FIRs against 180 people in terms of election-related activities, and more than 1,200 police teams are very actively working in the field. We are ensuring that all the new initiatives by the Election Commission are implemented properly," he added.

Political Landscape

The election is seen as a contest between the ruling LDF and opposition UDF, with the BJP-led NDA, which has been gaining vote share. LDF holds 99 seats in the current assembly and is aiming for a third consecutive term based on its performance and welfare schemes. The LDF created a record in 2021 as it retained the southern state, which, over the decades, has seen power alternating between the coalitions led by CPI(M) and Congress. (ANI)

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