THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Soon after the disclosure of fake votes in the electoral rolls published for the assembly elections, Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala on Monday alleged that there were also widespread irregularities in the casting of postal votes in the elections. The casting of postal ballots by absentee voters -- electors who are above 80, persons with disabilities and COVID-19-positive and quarantined electors -- has begun in the state. The list of postal voters has names of those who died and those who have not applied for postal votes, he alleged.
For instance, around 10 voters who had died figured in the postal voters list in Thiruvananthapuram central and Congress candidate in the constituency V S Sivakumar has submitted a complaint to the Election Commission. The postal ballots are not collected in sealed ballot boxes and not kept in strong rooms. Further, the places where the postal ballots are being stored now have no CCTVs and MLAs have already pointed that Left service organisations have been trying to sabotage the mandate, he said.
“The police association has clearly intervened in the casting of postal votes of policemen. There were directions from the association that the casting of votes should be shot on mobile phone and forwarded to association leaders. This is not the right practice in a democracy and I have complained to the state police chief,” he said.
He also alleged that irregularities in the electoral rolls helped the Left script a thumping victory in the local body elections as widespread illegal votes were cast in the polls. The CPM has designed a plan to cast massive illegal votes this time as well, he alleged.
Meanwhile, the Kerala High Court on Monday directed the Election Commission to take steps to ensure that voters having their names entered in multiple constituencies cast only one vote in the Assembly polls. The court issued the interim order on a petition filed by Chennithala seeking to restrain fake and multiple entry voters from participating in the April 6 elections.