The Congress, Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)], and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) are continuing to trade charges over the draft voters’ list for Kozhikode district, published ahead of the local body polls.
District Congress Committee (DCC) president K. Praveenkumar told the media on Thursday (August 14, 2025) that a preliminary study by the party had found at least one lakh “double votes” and fake voter identity cards in the district, with the Kozhikode Corporation alone accounting for 25,000 of them. He said that in many Corporation wards, the number of fake votes exceeded the losing margin of United Democratic Front (UDF) candidates in the previous elections.
Mr. Praveenkumar alleged that 98% of these voters were linked to the CPI(M). He added that 1,642 people with “fake identity cards” had been identified in the district. “In the Azhchavattam ward, where the UDF candidate lost by 28 votes last time, there are 41 double votes. In the Balussery Assembly constituency, one person holds multiple identity cards and votes. The segment has 1,800 such fake votes. There are also discrepancies in Thiruvallur, Cheruvannur and Ayancheri grama panchayats,” he said.
However, Kozhikode Deputy Mayor C.P. Musafar Ahmed dismissed the allegations of voters’ list tampering levelled by the Congress and its UDF allies. He told the media, along with other LDF leaders, that the list was a continuation of the previous voters’ list published by the State Election Commission. Some names had been added and others removed after applications for the purpose were filed in the proper manner.
He said there were 4,54,739 voters in 75 wards of the Corporation as per the July 2024 data. After the number of wards increased to 76, no new voters had been illegally added or removed. If there were complaints over technical issues, they could be addressed, Mr. Ahmed added. He also alleged that the UDF and the BJP were trying to retain supporters who had already shifted to other places at Kinassery, Kuttichira, and Puthiyara in the Kozhikode Corporation.
Meanwhile, the CPI(M) district committee alleged in a statement that the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) was making accusations to conceal its own efforts to add fake voters to the rolls. The IUML had claimed that several people were listed as residing in the same house in certain wards of the Corporation. The CPI(M) countered that these were UDF and BJP supporters, adding that in Nadapuram grama panchayat, around 2,000 fake voters had been included. Similar attempts, it alleged, were made in Vadakara municipality and in grama panchayats such as Chekkiad, Thuneri, Thiruvallur, and Ayanchery.
Published – August 15, 2025 01:14 am IST
