Election Commission sources said 21 nominations were filed today for the first phase of Assembly elections on April 22.

Kerala Congress (B) leader R Balakrishna Pillai filed his papers from Kottarakara. Alphonse Kannanthanam, who quit the IAS recently and is contesting as an LDF Independent, filed from Kanjirapally.

Shibu Baby John who leads a Revolutionary Socialist Party faction, was the other prominent person who filed the nomination from Chavara.

The process of Assembly elections in Kerala began on March 28 and in the first phase, 59 constituencies in Idukki, Kottayam, Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta, Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram would go to the polls. The elections would be in three phases and notification for the second phase would be issued on March 31 and third phase on April 5.

In the second phase, 66 constituencies in Kozhikode, Wayanad, Malappuram, Palakkad, Thrissur and Ernakulam would go to the polls on April 29. The third phase on May 3 would involve only 15 constituencies in the northern districts of Kannur and Kasaragod.

The last date for filing nominations for the first phase is April four and scrutiny of papers would take place the next day. The last day for withdrawals is April 7.

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