United Democratic Front (UDF) candidate Praveen Kumar has alleged fraudulent voting in Nadapuram town of Kozhikode district amid the Kerala Assembly election on Tuesday.
According to reports, a voter by the name Ayesha could not exercise her franchise as someone had already voted in booth 10, roll number 286. The incident was brought to the attention of Kumar, who filed a complaint with the District Collector over fraudulent voting.
Kumar also alleged that CPM activists stopped him from entering some booths. The UDF had alleged that Nadapuram has the highest double votes with more than 6,000 such votes existing.
A similar incident to that of Ayesha took place in Kannur’s Thazhechovva. A man was taken into custody after allegedly casting a vote in someone else’s name in booth 73. According to reports, the accused downloaded the voter slip of the actual voter from the Voter Help app. Just like Ayesha, the actual voter cannot exercise their franchise as the accused has already cast the vote. After the incident came to light, the Kerala Police registered a case after the presiding officer filed a complaint.
In another incident, a man was sent back for trying to cast a second vote from polling booth 67 in Kalarcorde, Alappuzha. The person in question wore a helmet and attempted to cast a second vote. The officials on duty asked him to remove his helmet, but he refused. Following this, the officials sent him back.
Meanwhile, a complaint was filed with the election officials in Wayanad after an electronic voting machine (EVM) in Kambalakkad allegedly malfunctioned. Reportedly, when two voters pressed a particular party symbol, their vote went to another party.
Earlier, 15 people who arrived in a jeep this morning in Kerala were stopped by BJP workers on suspicion of double voting. The BJP workers allege that those who came from Tamil Nadu had items like cotton and ink to wipe off the mark after casting their vote. The workers even shared a video of the group being stopped and checking on social media.
As the incident resulted in a clash, more police officers arrived and took everyone to the police station. The group that reached from Tamil Nadu claimed that they were on their way to attend a funeral. However, the police said that they will conduct a detailed investigation into the matter.
