Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 2(HS):
Kerala is set for a high-stakes local body election this year, with 75,644 candidates in the fray across various tiers — a marginal increase from 2020 but marked by a significant rise in women’s political participation.
For the first time, women account for over half (52%) of all contestants, underlining a major shift in grassroots representation.
According to the final candidate list, 39,609 women are contesting the polls compared to 36,034 men, along with one transgender candidate, who will be contesting from the Pothencode division of the Thiruvananthapuram District Panchayat.
This makes the 2025 polls one of the most gender-inclusive local body elections in the state’s history.
Several districts — including Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Thrissur, Ernakulam, Wayanad and Kozhikode — lead in women’s representation.
At the gram panchayat level, 29,262 women and 26,168 men are contesting, reaffirming the steady push for gender balance.
In block panchayats, 3,583 women and 3,525 men are in the fray.
District panchayats continue to see male dominance: 672 men are contesting this year, up from 594 in 2020, while women have dropped from 685 to 602.
Urban local bodies also reflect strong female participation.
Municipalities have 5,221 women compared to 4,810 men, while corporations have fielded 941 women and 859 men.
The 2025 contest sees 745 more candidates compared to the 74,899 who contested in 2020. Back then, only 36,305 candidates were women, making up 48.45%.
Malappuram maintains its position with the highest number of contestants: 8,387 in 2020 and 8,381 this year.
Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad and Thiruvananthapuram continue to remain among the districts with the most candidates. Wayanad, traditionally the smallest in terms of candidate numbers, remains so again — rising slightly from 1,857 in 2020 to 1,968 in 2025.
With women crossing the 50% mark and a transgender candidate making a historic entry, the 2025 local body elections are set to be one of Kerala’s most inclusive democratic exercises yet.
Hindusthan Samachar / Arun Lakshman
