Opposition up in arms over alleged discrepancies in draft electoral rolls

The Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are up in arms over the alleged discrepancies in the draft electoral rolls for the Kochi Corporation and the larger Ernakulam district published by the State Election Commission.

This, they alleged, was a concerted effort in connivance with officials to set the ground in favour of the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)]. The UDF’s Ernakulam MLA T.J. Vinod has petitioned the Chief Election Commissioner with copies to the District Collector and the Kochi Corporation secretary. He pointed out that hundreds of voters in many delimited wards had been erroneously included in the neighbouring wards and even in entirely different Assembly constituencies.

In one such instance, 600-odd voters from 200-odd households in the Perumanoor division in the Ernakulam Assembly constituency were found included in the Panampilly Nagar division in the Thrikkakara Assembly constituency, Mr. Vinod said. “The voters concerned are required to submit applications in Form 7 to resolve this mistake. It was practically difficult for 10,000-odd voters in the Ernakulam constituency alone to submit applications and then turn up for hearing in the short period allowed for the purpose. This amounted to violation of a citizen’s right to cast vote,” he said.

Voters have been given time till August 7 to apply to correct mistakes in the draft electoral rolls. This will be followed by hearings of petitioners, and the final list will be published by August 31.

M.G. Aristotle, UDF parliamentary party leader in the Corporation, alleged that in the voter’s list for the civic body, prepared based on building numbers, over 500 voters were listed under buildings numbered ‘0’. He said this undermined the very sanctity of the list and questioned how a building could be assigned the number ‘0’ and how such buildings could be identified.

“There have also been instances where persons who were not members of the households in the relevant building numbers were shown as voters of those buildings. For instance, in my building number where only my mother and I reside, a stranger has been shown as a voter,” he said.

P.S. Shaiju, chairperson of the BJP city district committee, alleged that in divisions and wards where the BJP had a good chance of victory, the party’s voters had been handpicked and deliberately shifted to the list of other wards and divisions to sabotage the party’s prospects. “This has been done deliberately with the connivance of the officers. We have petitioned the Collector, who is also the District Election Officer, and unless a favourable decision is forthcoming by Monday (July 28, 2025), we will move the court,” he said.