LDF Marches to Election Office Demanding Probe Into Voter List Manipulation Under Guise of SIR

Kannur: A mass march to the District Election Office was organised under the leadership of the LDF, demanding that flaws in the SIR (Special Intensive Revision) procedures be rectified. The march was held in the wake of widespread suspicions and irregularities reported in the voter list revision process. CPI(M) Kannur District Secretary K K Ragesh inaugurated the march to the Kannur district election office.

Addressing the gathering, K K Ragesh said that lakhs of voters were being removed from the electoral rolls. He pointed out that there were widespread complaints regarding the inclusion of new names, who are ineligible, as well, and evidence suggested that names were being added in an abnormal manner.

Kannur district, which ranks eighth in Kerala in terms of expatriate voters, has recorded the highest number of expatriate voter additions, he said, adding that this needs to be investigated. There are also instances of people from other states finding their way into the voter list. Situations where names are added without the knowledge of Booth Level Officers (BLOs) must not occur. BLOs have received nearly four times the number of applications than what they were originally given for verification. Adequate time and opportunity must be provided for proper scrutiny. Steps should be taken to prevent the misuse of the process as an opportunity to add bogus votes, Ragesh said.

The march was presided over by CPI District Secretary C. P. Santhosh Kumar. LDF District Convener N. Chandran delivered the welcome address. C. P. Murali, K. K. Jayaprakash, M. P. Murali, K. P. Prasanth, Iqbal Popular, Subhash Ayyoth, K. P. Suresh Kumar, and Joseph Parappanal addressed the gathering.

CPI(M) State Committee members T. V. Ragesh, M. Prakashan, Karayi Rajan, M. Surendran, P. Harindran, T. K. Govindan, P. V. Gopinathan, P. Purushothaman and others were also present.