Saturday, September 24 2005 09:52 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Thiruvananthapuram: Voting in the first phase of local body elections in Kerala began today (Sept 24, 2005), covering eight southern districts from Thiruvananthapuram to Thrissur.

Initial reports said the polling is in smooth progress in most places.

As many as 11,829 wards spread over 583 village panchayats, 93 block panchayats, 8 district panchayats, 33 municipalities and four city corporations are covered by the first phase of the polls.

The elections are fought politically with the ruling Congress led UDF and the opposition Communist Party of India (CPI) Marxist (M) controlled LDF engaged in keen combat as principal contestants throughout the state. ]

A total of 40,081 candidates are in the fray in the first phase of the polls.

Electronic Voting Machines are used in urban areas, while voters in rural areas marking their preferences in paper ballots.

The second phase of the voting is slated for September 26 and the counting will take place the next day.