Thiruvananthapuram Dec 12 || Kerala's political formations are bracing for a decisive day as counting of votes in the local body elections begins at 8 am on Saturday across 244 centres statewide.
With turnout dipping in both phases of polling, the political fronts are closely crunching numbers to gauge which way the public mood has shifted ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.
Polling in the second phase, held across districts from Thrissur to Kasaragod on Thursday, recorded 76.08 per cent turnout — lower than the 77.9 per cent average logged in the same districts in 2020.
The first phase, covering seven districts from Thiruvananthapuram to Ernakulam, had witnessed 70.91 per cent polling, also below the 2020 average of 73.82 per cent.
This across-the-board decline has triggered intense speculation, with analysts reading the drop as a sign of a uniform sentiment running through the state.