Thiruvananthapuram: Voting began for all 20 Lok Sabha constituencies of Kerala on Tuesday in which Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Union Minister Alphons Kannamthanam and two-time sitting MP Shashi Tharoor are key candidates. Enthusiastic voters queued at several booths even before 7 am when the polling officially began for the third phase of the ongoing Lok Sabha polls.

Kerala: Visuals from polling booths 17, 18, 19 and 42 in Kochi, ahead of the third phase of elections. Voting begins at 7 AM today. #LokSabhaElections2019 pic.twitter.com/xv2pg2VMPQ

— ANI (@ANI) April 23, 2019

Candidates P K Kunhalikutty (Malappuram), M K Premachandran (Kollam), Hibi Eden (Ernakulam) and Innocent (Chalakudy) were among the early voters. Nine MLAs, 13 sitting MPs and two former party district secretaries, and two actors are contesting the polls in the state. The three major fronts-- ruling CPI(M)-led LDF, Opposition Congress headed UDF and the BJP-NDA have nominated 6 women candidates. A total of 227 candidates are in the fray, including 23 women in the 20 constituencies.