Allegations and counter allegations mar Kerala local body electioneering

Thiruvananthapuram: While the opposition parties, including the Congress and the CPM, are raising allegations against the conduct of the election commission at the national level, in Kerala the ruling CPM and opposition Congress are engaged in allegation and counter criticisms over the ongoing local body electioneering, putting the state election machinery's neutrality in tight spot.

In a latest development, the removal of a Congress candidate in the Thiruvananthapuram corporation, Vaisha Suresh, from the electoral roll on the basis of a CPM local leader's complaint was scrapped by the state election commission on Wednesday following the intervention of the Kerala High Court.

On the other hand, the Congress suffered major embarrassment after its mayor candidate V M Vinu had to withdraw from the fray as the Kerala High Court rejected his plea against the omission of his name from the electoral rolls.

The Congress, BJP and Aam Aadmi Party had also raised allegations of manipulations in the electoral rolls of the state election commission by the ruling CPM. Specific instances of scores of voters in the same address were raised by the Congress and AAP in the state capital itself.

Earlier the delimitation process in the state also faced allegations of manipulations by the ruling CPM in their favour.

State election commissioner A Shajahan's order on Wednesday reinstating Congress candidate Vaisha Suresh's name in the electoral roll has termed the decision of officials to remove her name from the electoral roll on the basis of a CPM activist's complaint as legally void. This will help the Congress and BJP to intensify the allegations that the ruling CPM was trying to manipulate the election process.

A former state election commissioner, who preferred anonymity, told DH that the electoral rolls should be finalised before the election is notified. 'Sufficient opportunity should be given to raise complaints and objections about the electoral rolls ahead of the notification. Once the elections are notified no complaints against the electoral rolls should be entertained until the election process is over," he said.

The allegations and counter moves by political parties over the local body polls indeed reflect the heat of the polls as it is considered as a trend setter for the assembly polls which will soon follow.