 "Probe 'terrible mismanagement' of Lok Sabha polls in Kerala: Congress to EC")
The Congress in Kerala, on Sunday, accused the state of "terrible mismanagement" during the Lok Sabha elections conducted on April 26. The party called upon the Election Commission of India (ECI) to launch a thorough investigation into the matter.
V D Satheesan, Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly, outlined in a letter to the ECI that the elections in Kerala were "grossly mismanaged", leading to considerable delays in numerous polling booths, according to a report in The Economic Times (ET).
The Congress leader said there were excessive delays between successive votes in numerous booths, with a considerable number of voters reportedly waiting for up to four-and-a-half hours. "Many voters returned after standing in line for hours at numerous booths in the blazing heat. Furthermore, some of the voters were unable to vote despite arriving at the polling booth before 6 pm," he said in the letter.
Satheesan asserted that in numerous booths, there was clear evidence of "grave negligence" on the part of officials. "Undoubtedly, the attitude of the officials has been a major cause of the drop in voter turnout. Unlike other elections, the EVM malfunction was also profound," the letter stated.
The Leader of the Opposition pointed out that polling hours were not extended in booths where faulty voting machines were discovered, and the current state of election arrangements has never been this bad in recent times, the ET reported.
"The voters' list sanitisation process in Kerala was also not meticulously done, as the latest voters list has numerous double votes and obsolete votes. Hence, I request your good self to initiate a comprehensive inquiry into the terrible mismanagement of the Lok Sabha election held in Kerala on April 26, 2024," he said in the letter.
His statement came a day after the Chief Electoral Officer said the Lok Sabha election process and voting in the state were satisfactory across all levels. According to Chief Electoral Officer Sanjay Kaul, voting machines exhibited improved performance compared to previous years. Kaul said voting was concluded by 6 pm in 95 per cent of the 25,231 polling booths and by 8 pm in 99 per cent of the booths.
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"Only in some booths in the Vadakara constituency did voting continue later. This was due to a higher turnout after 5 pm, requiring officials to verify records and ensure accuracy, which naturally took more time," Kaul said.
The general elections to elect 543 members of the 18th Lok Sabha will be held in seven phases, from April 19 to June 1. Phase 3 voting is scheduled for May 7, Phase 4 for May 13, Phase 5 for May 20, Phase 6 for May 25, and Phase 7 for June 1. The results will be declared on June 4.