Congress urges ECI to probe ‘terrible mismanagement’ of LS polls in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram: The Congress in Kerala on Sunday alleged “terrible mismanagement” of the Lok Sabha polls held in the state on April 26 and urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) to initiate a comprehensive inquiry into it.

In a letter to the ECI, Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly V D Satheesan alleged that the elections in Kerala were “grossly mismanaged,” resulting in significant delays in many booths.

The Congress leader said that the interval between subsequent votes in many booths saw undue delays, with many voters apparently waiting up to four-and-a-half hours for their turn.

“Many voters returned after standing in line for hours at numerous booths in the blazing heat. Furthermore, some of the voters were unable to vote despite arriving at the polling booth before 6 PM,” he said.

Satheesan alleged that “grave negligence” on the part of officials was evident in many booths.

“Undoubtedly, the lacklustre attitude of the officials has been a major cause of the drop in voter turnout. Unlike other elections, the EVM malfunction was also profound,” he said.

The LoP said the polling hours were not extended in booths where voting machines were found to be faulty, and the election arrangements have never been so bad in recent times. “The voters’ list sanitisation process in Kerala was also not meticulously done, as the latest voters list has numerous double votes and obsolete votes. Hence, I request your good self to initiate a comprehensive inquiry into the terrible mismanagement of the Lok Sabha election held in Kerala on April 26, 2024,” he said in the letter.