Thiruvananthapuram (Keralam) [India], April 8 (ANI): Keralam Chief Electoral Officer Rathan U Kelkar on Tuesday said that 1.46 lakh trained polling personnel will be dispatched to all the polling stations for the Kerala assembly polls scheduled to be held in a single phase on April 9, with vote counting scheduled for May 4.

Around 2.7 crore electors are expected to participate in the election.

He further informed that FIRs in election-related activities have been registered against 180 people.

'As part of the arrangements for Kerala Assembly elections, we have the total electorate of 2.71 crores, and the service voters are 53,984... We will be counting the votes in 140 strong rooms and 43 locations. We have 1.46 lakh polling personnel who have been trained and will be dispatched to all the polling stations... We have FIRs against 180 people in terms of election-related activities, and more than 1,200 police teams are very actively working in the field... We are ensuring that all the new initiatives by the Election Commission are implemented properly,' he said.

Meanwhile, the last day of campaigning for the Keralam assembly polls drew to a sizzling close on Tuesday with a high-voltage political 'roast,' which turned to be the highlight of a long, sweltering and humid day.

The almost a month-long campaigning by political parties came to a close at 6 pm on Tuesday and the State entered the mandatory 48-hour silence period ahead of polling for the 140-seat Assembly.

The election is seen as a contest between the ruling LDF and opposition UDF, with the BJP-led NDA, which has been gaining vote share, also hopeful of its prospects in the southern state.

Left Democratic Front holds 99 seats in the current assembly and is aiming for a third consecutive term on its performance and welfare schemes. The LDF created a record in 2021 as it retained the southern state, which has over the decades, seen power alternating between the coalitions led by CPI(M) and Congress.

The elections are crucial for the Left front as Kerala is the only state where it is in power, having been squeezed in Tripura and West Bengal. (ANI)