CPI(M) alleges serious errors in draft electoral roll in Kozhikode

Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] Kozhikode district secretary M. Mehaboob has alleged that the draft electoral roll published as part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) contains serious errors, and that the revision was done in a hasty and unscientific manner.

Addressing the media here on Friday (January 2), Mr. Mehaboob said a complaint had been forwarded to the Election Commission seeking its urgent intervention in the matter. He added that the verification of those excluded from the draft roll had shown that many were removed without valid reasons. Living persons have been marked as deceased, and residents have been shown as absent. Even students and workers who are studying or employed abroad or in other States have been excluded despite possessing all valid documents, he said.

“The situation is such that not only those whose names have been deleted from the electoral roll, but even many who continue to figure in the list, might not be able to cast their votes. The draft roll was published by arbitrarily splitting voters without considering their places of residence. This is not a problem confined to one or two locations. A ground-level verification has revealed that the issue is widespread across all 13 Assembly constituencies in the district,” the CPI(M) district secretary said.

He noted that there were serious errors in the arrangement of polling booths. “Members of the same household have been placed in different booths. Several voters are unaware of their polling stations. In some cases, notices have been issued asking voters to appear for hearings on trivial grounds, citing technical errors. Voters are running from pillar to post to correct records within a short time. As a result, there is growing fear that, in addition to those already excluded, many who are currently included in the roll might also lose their voting rights,” Mr. Mehaboob said.

The CPI(M) district secretary said that even officials did not have a clear idea of how these issues could be resolved. “Never before have there been so many problems related to the electoral roll. The District Collector, who is the Election Officer, is unable to rectify them. The Election Commission should intervene urgently to ensure voting rights for all eligible citizens and to correct the unscientific arrangement of booths. Instead of hearings, the problems can be resolved only by deploying special teams to conduct door-to-door verification,” he added.