Thiruvananthapuram | Polling commenced on Monday morning for the byelections to 38 local body wards in Keralam amidst the criticism from various quarters against the UDF government on issues, like power cuts, ministers' foreign junkets and delay in flood relief assistance.

Voting commenced at a brisk pace in the bypolls, the first one after the UDF victory in the assembly elections, which began at 7 am, according to reports.

Bypolls are being held in 38 local body wards of 12 districts in the state, except Kollam and Alappuzha, the State Election Commission (SEC) said.

A total of 126 candidates are contesting in the byelections, seeking the mandate of 3,09,713 voters of whom 1,64,241 are women, 1,45,468 are men and four are transgender, it said.

The highest numbers of candidates -- 23 -- are contesting in Palakkad district where bypolls are being held in seven local body wards.

The votes will be counted on Tuesday.