THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala on Wednesday alleged widespread irregularities in the voters’ list published for the assembly elections in the state. The CPM has been including thousands of fake voters in the list in every constituency, he said. The Congress workers have detected 4,506 fake voters in Kazhakootam constituency, 2,534 in Kollam, 1,434 in Trikaripur, 4,611 in Koyilandy, 6,171 in Nadapuram, 3,525 in Koothuparamba, and 4,570 in Ambalappuzha, he alleged at a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram.
But soon after the allegation, he landed in a soup as one of the persons he named in the press conference, Kumari, came forward saying her name was included in the list by local Congress workers and that she and her family were Congress sympathisers. Chennithala had said six identity cards were provided by a voter named Kumari at booth 164 in Udma, Kasaragod, for duplicating her name in the voters’ list.
Her name was in the list four or five times. Similarly, thousands of fake voters were included in the list in each constituency. If those who died or out of station had cast votes in the previous elections, electoral fraud is being committed by persons with four or five voter identity cards now, he said. “The Opposition will urge the election panel to strike out the duplicate names that crept into the voters’ list. A comprehensive inquiry has to be initiated and the officials responsible punished,” he said.
‘Same address and photo to include fake voters’
In many cases, the same address and photo have been used to include fake voters in the list and this cannot be done without the help of officials. A section of Election Commission officials owing allegiance to the ruling party were behind these irregularities, he added. The husband of Kumari said he was not aware of the incident. The Opposition leader levelled the allegations without checking the facts, he told media. There was only one identity card with her and using this card, the local party workers included her name in the list, he said in Udma.