Kerala local body polls: Candidates make final pitch to voters as open campaigning for Phase 1 draws to a close on Dec. 7

Key Highlights

• The vibrancy of the fierce contest seemed evident in clamorous roadshows and corner meetings.
• Campaign vehicles of the contenders wove through constituencies, drowning neighbourhoods in arousing electioneering theme songs set to deafening martial music.
• Crackers and traditional percussion ensembles heralded the arrival of candidates.
• Party workers bearing flags and wearing party colours took out motorcycle rallies as the colourful campaigning reached a crescendo, inching towards a climactic finish in town centres in the evening.
• In play in the first phase of polling on Tuesday (December 9) are three Municipal Corporations, 39 municipalities, seven district panchayats and 75 block panchayats, spanning Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Idukki, Alappuzha and Ernakulam districts.