Deceased people, duplicate entries: Draft voters’ list in Kerala marred by errors

Thiruvananthapuram: The draft electoral rolls published after reorganising polling booths post the delimitation of wards in Kerala have triggered a flood of complaints. Several voters, who had participated in the previous election, found their names missing from the rolls published ahead of the 2025 local body polls. The Election Commission claimed that the names of the dead and those who had shifted their residences were dropped during the electoral roll summary revisions carried out in 2023 and 2024.

However, the rolls have the names of people who had died three/four years ago. It is also complained that voters were added to the list of other wards than their own. The Parassala panchayat in the Thiruvananthapuram district reported an instance of the members of a family included in the voters' list of two different wards. While the father's name figured on the list for Cheruvarakonam, the son's name has been added to the list for Vanyakkode ward.

Such instances have been reported from the Thiruvananthapuram corporation limits as well. Reports of name and voter identification number mismatch, too, have emerged.

The Election Commission had said that the wards were mapped and delimited using the Qfield app. However, many voters found themselves not named in the list of their wards due to either human error or other reasons. Their names have been included in the neighbouring wards.

It has also been alleged that the officials had sought the help of political parties, which resulted in the errors in the voters' list.

Although the delimitation of wards was based on population figures, the electoral rolls reveal significant differences in the number of voters across wards of the same panchayat. The draft electoral rolls show population figures ranging from 700 to 1,500 in wards of the same panchayat.

One voter, multiple votes
In Kozhikode corporation limits, a voter's name has been included at three different places, "granting" him multiple votes. Kozhikode also reported multiple voters holding the same voter identification number. The 'KL' identification cards, which the Election Commission had recalled in 2015, have found their way into the draft electoral rolls. It has been seen as a serious mistake.

Though the Election Commission of India had introduced new numbers replacing the KL series, old numbers are used in the draft electoral rolls. This leads to a problem: If a voter's name is duplicated in the rolls of a different ward, it cannot be identified, and it could lead to bogus voting. According to reports, at least 500 to 1,500 voters in each ward have been assigned the old voter card series.

Interestingly, an MLA found his name excluded from the ward where he resides. Kovalam MLA M Vincent and his wife Mary Subha's names have been erroneously included in the voters' list of Balaramapuram panchayat. The MLA, who lives in the Town ward, has been included in the voters' list of Edamanakuzhi ward. However, his brother Vincent D Paul and family still have their votes in the Town ward.