Alappuzha: Ambalappuzha tehsildar Anvar S, who is the Assistant Electoral Registration Officer, recorded CPM leader G Sudhakaran’s statement on Thursday after he disclosed his involvement in tampering with postal ballots during the 1989 general elections. After recording the former minister’s statement, the officials said a report would be submitted to District Collector VR Vinod IAS, who will decide on further action. The Chief Electoral Officer ordered a probe after Sudhakaran spoke about tampering with postal ballots in 1989. A report was sought from the Alappuzha District Election Officer.

Responding to the legal issues, Sudhakaran said he was not afraid of any consequences and confirmed that he had recorded his statement before the officials. “I did not commit any murder. So, I’m not afraid. I have recorded my statement. Let the collector take action,” said the CPM leader.

Meanwhile, Sudhakaran’s revelation has triggered a political controversy in the state.

Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Adv. Sunny Joseph alleged that the CPM has been practising vote rigging and ballot tampering for many years and that such illegal activities are part of the party’s election strategy.

“CPM has always tried to subvert elections by engaging in vote rigging, voter impersonation, and ballot tampering. We have pointed this out several times. Now, Sudhakaran has confessed to the crime. Strict action should be taken to prevent such practices in future elections,” said the new KPCC chief.

CPI leader Binoy Viswam also criticised Sudhakaran for opening postal ballots. Addressing the media on Thursday, he said it's illegal to open and read postal ballots. 
CPM is yet to respond to the issue.

Controversy
The alleged ballot tampering came to light after a video of Sudhakaran making these controversial revelations during a recent NGO union function went viral on social media. In the video, Sudhakaran is heard saying that NGO union members should not cast their votes for rival candidates.

Sudhakaran said that not all NGO members must vote for the party, but those who submit sealed ballots should not assume that "we won’t find out" whom they voted for.

“We will unseal them, verify, and correct them. Even if a case is filed against me for saying this, I don’t mind,” he is heard saying in the video aired by news channels.

He added that some NGO union members had voted for opposition candidates. “When KSTA leader KV Devadas contested for Parliament from Alappuzha, postal ballots were unsealed and examined at the district committee office. It was found that 15 per cent had voted for the opposing candidate. Patching up what’s broken isn’t difficult,” he said.

The video did not clarify whether he personally or his associates tampered with postal ballots after they were unsealed during the 1989 Lok Sabha election for the Alappuzha seat.

Sudhakaran said that Devadas had contested against Congress leader Vakkam Purushothaman in that election and lost 18,000 votes.

However, Election Commission documents show that Purushothaman secured 3,75,763 votes in that election, defeating CPM candidate Devadas, who received 3,50,640 votes. Purushothaman won by a margin of 25,123 votes, which accounted for 3.36 per cent of the total valid votes.