Rahul Gandhi vs EC: After Bihar, Karnataka, Congress alleges discrepancies in Kerala voter list, targets ruling CPI(M)

Amid a row over alleged "doctored" electoral rolls in Karnataka and Bihar, the Congress on Saturday targeted the Election Commission over irregularities in the voters' list in Kerala. However, the party unit in Kerala targeted the ruling CPI(M) for the discrepancies.

 

Talking to reporters, Kerala Opposition leader V.D. Satheeshan said, "There are serious irregularities in the Election Commission's draft voter list. Names of people who died four years ago are also in this list. Members of the same family have votes in different polling stations."

 

The Congress leader charged the draft electoral roll was prepared with the help of CPI(M) members in Kerala. "Election Commission officials, who were on the field for data collection, took the help of some CPI(M) leaders. Only 15 days have been allotted for correction. There is a deliberate attempt by the Election Commission to sabotage the elections," he charged.

 

The accusation from the Congress leader in Kerala comes amidst row over alleged discrepancies in electoral roll in Karnataka and Bihar. The Congress and other opposition parties have strongly opposed the intensive electoral roll revision in Bihar, alleging it would disenfranchise a large number of voters. 

 

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi recently alleged "vote theft" during the Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka. Karnataka Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar backed Gandhi's claims and said bogus voters were added to the list in one of the constituencies in Karnataka.

 

 

However, the Election Commission called Gandhi's claims "misleading" and unfortunate. The poll body said the electoral roll after summary revision was shared with all recognised parties, including Congress, and they did not receive any complaints from Congress members about discrepancies then. 

India