Thiruvananthapuram/Kasaragod: Chief electoral officer (CEO) of Kerala, Teeka Ram Meena, has sought reports from Kasargod and Kannur district collectors on alleged bogus voting at various polling booths in the Kasargod Lok Sabha constituency.
"We have got complaints from certain places. The Election Commission will take further action in this regard. We are waiting for the report. We'll examine all such complaints," Meena told reporters.
Further action would be taken after examination of the video clipping, Meena said.
The Congress party had released visuals to show that bogus votes were cast in a booth at Pilathara in Kasaragod during the Lok Sabha elections held on April 23.
The visuals were procured by the Congress from the webcasting records of the Election Commission.
The two alleged bogus voters seen are reportedly current and former members of the panchayat.
In one of the videos, a woman in a saffron sari is seen voting twice.
The door of the polling both remains shut when she casts her second vote. The woman wipes the inkmark on her finger on her hair after casting her first vote.
This lady has been identified by the Congress as Padmini, who is the voter no 774 on the electoral rolls.
The other visuals released by Congress also show six other individuals impersonating in different polling booths of Pilatara.
They show two individuals voting in booths not allotted in their name.
The Congress has also accused the polling officer for handing over an ID card to a voter.
UDF leader K Sudhakaran, who is the candidate in Kannur, had accused foul play in both Kannur and Kasargod districts in north Kerala.
An individual had complained that he was unable to vote on election day despite standing in a long queue as someone else already cast the vote in his name.
Opposition Congress Leader Ramesh Chennithala lashed out at the ruling LDF alleging that the CPI(M) has resorted to bogus voting fearing defeat in the polls.
He said the Left was trying to manipulate the public mandate and the Congress would initiate legal proceedings against the bogus voting.
"From video evidence, it could be seen that the Left has cast around 5,000 bogus votes in Kasaragod constituency," Chennithala said.
Kasaragod, located towards northern edge of the state and surrounded by the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea, is considered the stronghold of the CPI(M). The last time Left was defeated here was in 1984.
To keep its bastion intact, the Left party has fielded former member of legislative assembly K P Satheesh Chandran from Kasaragod, a seat represented thrice by late Communist stalwart A K Gopalan.
Congress had fielded senior leader Rajmohan Unnithan to wrest the seat from the Left.
(With agency inputs)
