Minor protests in Kerala over bogus vote allegations

Thiruvananthapuram: Assembly polling across Kerala progressed largely peacefully, but protests were reported at several booths on Thursday over allegations of bogus voting.

A minor scuffle broke out between Congress and BJP activists at Manalur in Thrissur district after UDF candidate T N Prathapan arrived in the area.

According to police, BJP activists prevented people accompanying Prathapan from entering the booth premises, leading to the scuffle.

In Wadakkanchery, also in Thrissur district, a voter, Sajeev, was unable to cast his vote after election officials informed him that his vote had already been recorded as a postal ballot.

This triggered protests by BJP activists, prompting police intervention.

Although election officials offered to allow him to cast a tender vote, he declined.

BJP candidate T S Ullas Babu later arrived at the booth and staged a protest.

A similar incident occurred in Kuttiady, Kozhikode district, where a woman was denied the right to vote after it was found that her vote had already been cast as a postal ballot.

At Malampuzha and Shoranur in Palakkad district, Thrikkaripur in Kasaragod, and Vattiyoorkavu in Thiruvananthapuram, complaints emerged that votes had been cast in the names of original voters, leading to protests.

The affected voters were later permitted to cast tender votes.

In Kalpetta, Wayanad, a polling agent was removed after it was found that she was simultaneously working as an ASHA worker.

In a separate incident in Uduma, Kasaragod, a Congress agent was caught using “smart spectacles” inside a polling booth.

At a polling booth in Badaje, Manjeshwar, Kasaragod, a defect was noticed in a voting machine that recorded more votes than were actually polled.