Kerala Goes to Polls

KOCHI:
A total of 1,203 candidates, including 109 women, are contesting for the 140 assembly seats in Kerala on in which a total of 2.61 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise. Polling started.
LDF will look to continue the pattern of alternate rule in Kerala but Oommen Chandy is also confident that the jinx will be broken. BJP is also prominently in fray and may well become the difference between winning and losing of two major fronts in several seats. It is unclear though that which front will BJP hurt more. Whether it will split the anti-incumbency vote or eat into Congress vote bank.
Main contestants seeking entry into assembly are Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala, Marxist leaders VS Achutanandan and Pinarayi Vijayan, IUML leader and Industries Minister P K Kunhalikutty, former Finance Minister K M Mani (Kerala Congress-M), BJP state president Kummanam Rajasekharan, former Union minister O Rajagopal and cricketer Sreesanth.
Modi’s controversial Kerala-Somalia comparison resulted in trending of hash tag #Po mone Modi# (go off Modi) and the two rival fronts attacking him for the remark.
The electioneering saw local issues giving way to corruption scams like AgustaWestland chopper deal, 2G, 3G, Commonwealth games, though the solar scam and brutal rape and murder of a Dalit woman in the state also figured prominently.