THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Within hours of the general election coming to an end, the state Congress leadership approached the chief electoral officer (CEO) with complaints of delays in voting, issues with electoral voting machines (EVMs) and conniving polling officials.
Speaking to reporters at Indira Bhavan, Congress state president in-charge M M Hassan said there have been reports of the electorate being inconvenienced by voting stoppages in several districts.
In some places, voters had to wait for more than four hours, which forced several people to leave without casting their ballot. Several glitches involving EVMs, including delayed response times, were reported, said Hassan, expressing apprehension over attempts to tamper with devices.
“The chief electoral officer should look into our complaints. In certain booths in Kasaragod and Kannur, there were widespread attacks and reports of bogus voting. Two polling officials were suspended in Vadakara for fudging data. But the UDF does not fear defeat anywhere,” said Hassan.
Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan echoed the remarks. He rued the lack of an independent and fair election process.
“Voting was brisk in several districts. We fear that there have been attempts on the part of polling officials to delay the voting process. There have also been instances of polling time not being extended despite faulty machines delaying the process. An investigation should be initiated into the matter,” said Satheesan.
‘Middleman EP’
Taking a jibe at LDF convenor E P Jayarajan, Hassan said that he is the ‘middleman’ of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Hassan said Jayarajan would not have met senior BJP leader Prakash Javadekar without Pinarayi’s express permission.
Glitches in EVMs
Several glitches involving EVMs, including delayed response times, were reported. Voting was brisk in several districts.