The UDF has approached the Kerala High Court seeking suspension of two returning officers from Perambra and Koyilandy over the alleged opening of rooms in the strong room premises. The move follows the UDF’s allegation of a conspiracy behind the opening of a room at JDT Institute, Vellimadukunnu, which housed polling-related materials for the Perambra Assembly constituency.

A group of UDF workers, led by District Congress Committee president Praveen Kumar and UDF Kunnamangalam candidate M A Razaq Master, had staged a protest outside the institute, alleging the room was opened without following proper procedures.

UDF candidate from Perambra, Fathima Thahiliya, questioned the need to open any room in the premises before counting.

Echoing the concern, Praveen Kumar said there was no valid reason to open the room prior to counting and alleged a “planned conspiracy”. He also noted that LDF and NDA candidates had not raised objections despite reports of the room being opened.

The Perambra Returning Officer clarified that reports of a “strong room” being opened were incorrect. Officials said the room was an unsealed space used to store polling records, not the secure strong room where EVMs or postal ballots are kept. It was opened in the presence of candidates’ agents to update data in the ENCORE software.

A similar issue was reported in the Nenmara constituency in Palakkad, where officials had considered opening a materials room, prompting allegations from the UDF. However, District Collector M S Madhavikutty later clarified that there was no plan to open the materials strong room at Victoria College and dismissed reports about opening the EVM strong room.