Kannur (Kerala) [India], March 18 : Police conducted a route march in Panur, Kannur district, as a precautionary measure to ensure peaceful and safe voting ahead of the upcoming Kerala Assembly elections.
The march was jointly led by officers from Panur, Koothuparamba, Kolavallur, and Kannavam police stations along with the Border Security Force (BSF). It commenced from the Makool Peedika area and proceeded to Panur Police Station via the Panur Bus Stand.
Panur Police Station Inspector Jitesh PK, along with 40 police personnel including SIs Sarath PR, Mohammed Shajeer VP, Dineshan, and Akhil, participated in the march. Additionally, 53 BSF personnel, led by BSF Inspector Charan Singh and SI BS Sarkar, were part of the exercise.
The 2026 Kerala Legislative Assembly elections will be held in a single phase on April 9, the Election Commission of India announced on Sunday, with the counting of votes scheduled to take place on May 4.
The main electoral contest in the State is expected between the Left Democratic Front (LDF), led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), and the United Democratic Front (UDF), led by the Indian National Congress. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by the Bharatiya Janata Party, is also in the fray for the Assembly polls.
The tenure of the current assembly is scheduled to end on May 23, 2026.
In the previous Kerala Assembly election in 2021, the incumbent LDF retained power with 99 seats, marking the first time since 1977 that a ruling alliance secured consecutive terms in the state. The UDF won 41 seats, while the NDA saw a decline in vote share and lost its only seat in the Assembly.
The 2016 Assembly elections had also seen the LDF come to power, winning 77 seats with a vote share of 34.8 per cent. The UDF secured 47 seats with 38.2 per cent of the votes, reflecting a closely contested political environment at the time.
A comparison between the two elections shows a consolidation of support for the LDF between 2016 and 2021, with the alliance increasing its seat tally by 17 seats. The UDF, meanwhile, saw its representation in the Assembly decline from 47 seats in 2016 to 40 seats in 2021.
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