THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala has been witnessing the growth of a vibrant democracy ever since the first assembly election in 1957. A look at the state's polling pattern shows a steady increase in the number of seats, candidates and voters. The number of voters has increased from 88 lakh in 1957 to 2.6 crore in 2016.
Over the years the state witnessed 14 legislative assemblies through which 22 governments under 12 different Chief Ministers - from EMS Namboodiripad in 1957 to Pinaratyi Vijayan in 2016 - came to power. A couple of them including EMS, EK Nayanar, K Karunakaran, AK Antony and Oommen Chandy got more than one term.
An analysis of general Assembly elections held in the state from 1957 to 2016 has shown that if 66.6 per cent voters exercised their franchise in the first election in the state, it has steadily increased to 77.35 per cent in 2016.
Similarly, if around 389 candidates were in the fray in the first elections, it rose to 1203 in last elections. However, the highest number of candidates who sought mandate in the elections was in 1987 with 1245. The data delineates the growth of the vibrant democracy in Kerala.
From 1957 to 2016:
