Assembly polls 2016: Arch political rivals PM Narendra Modi, Sonia Gandhi soon to hit Kerala

New Delhi: As the dates of Kerala Assembly Elections are coming closer, it is being learnt that political arch rivals Prime Minister Narendera Modi and Congress president Sonia Gandhi along with Rahul have finalised their dates for holding high voltage campaign rallies in this southern state of India.

With just two weeks to go for the polls, various leaders of the national parties are turning their attention to Kerala with the promise of taking the political debate to newer directions.

While Congress leader and former defence minister AK Antony has already started his campaign in the state by saying that the aim of United Democratic Front (UDF) is to ensure a BJP-free assembly, Amit Shah has also firmed his feet in the poll-bound state.

As per The Economic Times, the Prime minister is scheduled to hold five election rallies in Kerala from May 6-11. On the other hand, the Congress president is expected to hit the state on May 9 while party vice-president Rahul Gandhi will be Kerala on May 11 and 12.

A total of 1,203 candidates are in fray and will fight for the 140 Kerala Assembly seats on May 16.

The principal fight is between the ruling Congress-led United Democratic Front and the CPI-M-led Left Democratic Front. The BJP-led NDA is also in the fray.

The maximum number of 145 candidates is in Malappuram district, which also has the maximum number of constituencies (16).

The hilly district of Wayanad with just three assembly constituencies has the least number of candidates (29).

Of the 1,203 candidates, 109 are women.