Lok Sabha election results 2019: Counting of votes in Kerala’s 20 seats today

The political fate of 243 candidates contesting in Lok Sabha Election 2019 in Kerala is likely to be known by Thursday evening. The voting in the state was held in a single phase on April 23 during the third phase of Lok Sabha election.

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The verdict of 20 Lok Sabha constituencies, including Wayanad from where Congress president Rahul Gandhi is contesting, in Kerala will be out when Lok Sabha election results 2019 are declared later on May 23. The counting of votes will begin at 8 am.  

The political fate of 243 candidates who are in the fray in Kerala is likely to be known by Thursday evening. The voting in the state was held in a single phase on April 23 during the third phase of Lok Sabha election. 

Kerala saw a triangular battle between the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF), the Communist Party of India (Marxist)(CPI)(M) led Left Democratic Front and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), at least in Pathanamthitta, which is the epicentre of the Sabarimala Temple protests. 

Lok Sabha constituencies in Kerala:

Alappuzha, Alathur, Attingal, Chalakudy, Ernakulam, Idukki, Kannur, Kasaragod, Kollam, Kottayam, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Mavelikara, Palakkad, Pathanamthitta, Ponnani, Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur, Vatakara and Wayanad.

Key candidates 

The most talked-about seat in Kerala is that of Wayanad from where Congress president Rahul Gandhi is contesting against CPI's P P Suneer and NDA's Thushar Vellapally. 

Besides him, two-time sitting Member of Parliament (MP) Shashi Tharoor and Union Minister Alphons Kannanthanam are among the other prominent candidates to watch out for.

In the wake of the Supreme Court's instruction to the Election Commission of India (ECI), the Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips tally will also be taken into consideration while counting the votes this time around. 

According to the apex court's instructions, the VVPAT slips of at least five EVMs per assembly segment in a Lok Sabha constituency will be counted. The tallying of votes will take place only after the last round of the counting, something which is expected to delay the results by at least five hours. 
As far as polling is concerned, Kerala recorded a total voter turnout of 77.67 per cent. While the total number of electors recorded were 2,61,51,534, around 2,03,11,852 was the voter turnout. 

What were the predictions of the exit polls? 

According to India Today-Axis exit poll, the Congress-led UDF will gain majority with 15-16 seats, while the LDF may only manage to win three to five seats and one seat will go to the BJP in Kerala.

While Today's Chanakya‏ predicted 16 ± 3 seats for the UDF, 4 ± 3 seats for the LDF and  0 ± 1 seats for the BJP, News 18-IPSOS exit polls suggested seven to nine seats will go to the Congress-led UDF, while the CPI(M)-led LDF could end up with 11 to 13 seats. The BJP is predicted to win one seat, according to News 18-IPSOS