194 candidates in the fray for 20 seats in Kerala: Here are the key contests

Voting is being held in all 20 Lok Sabha constituencies of Kerala in a single phase today. 194 candidates from the CPI(M)-led ruling LDF, Congress-headed UDF, and the BJP-led NDA are in fray.

The most keenly watched battle is in the capital Thiruvananthapuram, where sitting MP and veteran Congress leader Shashi Tharoor is seeking a fourth term. He is up against Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and CPI veteran Pannian Raveendran, who represented the seat in 2005.

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi is eyeing reelection from Wayanad, a seat he won by a margin of over 4 lakh in 2019. It's a three-cornered contest with the CPI fielding national leader Annie Raja, and BJP pitting its state unit president K Surendran.

Congress general secretary KC Venugopal has returned to the electoral field as a candidate for the Alappuzha seat. Venugopal represented the constituency in 2009 and 2014, but did not contest in 2019 after he was appointed party general secretary. Alappuzha was the only seat that Congress lost to LDF in the last general election.

CPI(M), meanwhile, is looking to win back its erstwhile citadel of Vadakara by betting on the popularity of KK Shailaja, "teacher amma" to her supporters. As health minister of the state during the Covid-19 pandemic, she is credited with Kerala's resilience in the crisis.

BJP has fielded actor-turned-politician Suresh Gopi from Thrissur, the cultural capital of the state. The saffron party is hoping its Hindutva narrative will resonate with the temple town famed for the 'Thrissur pooram'.

Will Congress outdo its 2019 performance and make a clean sweep in Kerala? Can the Left ride on its Assembly victories to win a larger share of the Parliamentary seats? Can the BJP work the 'Modi magic' to make a mark, finally, in the Southern state?

The results will be declared after all seven phases of the Lok Sabha polls on June 4.