Thiruvananthapuram: A total of 36,630 candidates are in the fray for the first phase of the Kerala local body elections , which highlights strong participation by women at the grassroots level. The list features 17,056 men, 19,573 women and one transgender candidate.

The phase includes 27,141 candidates for gram panchayats, 3,366 for block panchayats, 594 for district panchayats, 4,480 for municipal wards and 1,049 for corporation wards.

Polling for the opening phase will take place on Tuesday from 7 am to 6 pm across 595 local self-government institutions spread across Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Idukki and Ernakulam.

The exercise will determine representatives to 11,168 wards, marking the opening round of a closely-watched two-phase civic electio

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