THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Electoral Officer Teeka Ram Meena has said the huge number of ‘fake voters’ in the list as pointed out by Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala calls for a serious probe. He said this after Chennithala handed over the details of 1,63,071 more such voters in 51 constituencies across the state. With this, the total number of fake voters identified by the Opposition has risen to 2,16,510.
Speaking to TNIE, Meena said, “We have sought reports from all district collectors in the wake of allegations that fake voters have found their way into the electoral roll. I cannot rule out foul play. I will come up with more details after getting the reports from the collectors,” he said.
“We had given three to four months for the political parties to vet the list. They had no issues then. They have come up with certain details at the eleventh hour. Such issues are common in every election, but the huge number of fake voters pointed out by the Opposition calls for a serious inquiry,” he said. “One thing I can affirm — that all issues related to the fake voters will be fixed before the elections and we will not allow bogus voting at any cost,” he added.
The Opposition had pointed out serious errors in the list that require the deletion of names because many of these voters are no longer alive. Even if only a small percentage of fake voters get to vote, they can swing the results. Election Commission officials say such irregularities are committed by certain officials at the behest of political parties or due to technical glitches.
“The fake voters in the list are potential enough to alter the real mandate in most of the constituencies. The fake voters were added using the addresses and photos of real voters. This cannot be done without the help of commission officials,” said Chennithala .
Organised network behind fake voters: Chennithala
“Most genuine voters are unaware of the entries made in their names using their documents. The fake voters can cast votes by using forged identity cards. The irregularities were planned in a systematic way in the entire state. This shows there was a conspiracy and an organised network behind the malpractice. This is a serious fraud,” said Chennithala.
The number of fake voters whose details were handed over to the chief electoral officer on Friday are as follows: 5,589 in Ponnani constituency, 5,478 in Kuttiyadi, 5,085 in Nilambur, 4,871 in Thiruvananthapuram Central, 4,862 in Wadakkanchery, 4,830 in Nadapuram, 4,310 in Tripunithura, 4,104 in Wandoor, 4,029 in Vattiyoorkavu, 3,940 in Ollur, 3,858 in Beypore, 3,835 in Thrikkakara, 3,834 in Perambra, 3,750 in Palakkad, 3,743 in Nattika, 3,708 in Balussery, 3,692 in Nemom, 3,661 in Kunnamangalam, 3,504 in Kayamkulam, 3,258 in Aluva, 3,212 in Manalur, 3,161 in Angamaly, 3,005 in Thrithala, 2,995 in Kovalam, 2,942 in Elathur, 2,909) in Malampuzha, 2,825 in Muvattupuzha, 2,825 in Guruvayur, 2,806 in Kattakada, 2,725 in Thrissur Town, 2,710 in Parassala, 2,678 in Pudukkad, 2,655 in Kozhikode North, 2,632 in Aruvikkara, 2,573 in Aroor, 2,531 in Kochi, 2,509 in Kaipamangalam, 2,485 in Kuttanad, 2,375 in Kalamassery, 2,368 in Chittur, 2,354 in Irinjalakuda, 2,294 in Ottapalam, 2,291 in Kozhikode South, 2,238 in Ernakulam Town, 2,218 in Mannarkad, 2,214 in Alappuzha, 2,208 in Nedumangad, 2,202 in Chengannur, 2,131 in Kunnathunadu, 2,054 in Paravoor and 2,005 in Varkala.