'Threatened with murder, barged into Congress leader's house'; Shafi Parambil alleges violence from CPM workers

VADAKARA: Vadakara UDF candidate Shafi Parambil alleged that the CPM workers blocked him from entering the booth while polling was resuming on Friday. Shafi alleged abuse and violence from CPM cadres against congress leaders and termed this as a vain attempt to disrupt the harmony after learning about the defeat on cards.

Shafi Parambil:

Voters faced a lot of trouble and I could see a long queue even at midnight. Even after repeated pleading the official did nothing to mend things up. Despite the hardships, the voters came in big numbers and cast their votes. Interestingly, the voting disruption mostly happened in Congress strongholds. The UDF Election Committee will look into any anomalies at the bureaucratic level. In Pannur, the polling agent was beaten inside the booth. This is violence that cannot be justified in any way.

I was blocked at a booth yesterday. This was happening when the opposition candidate was visiting a nearby booth. I questioned this and they told me to go and stop the other candidate if we need. I wanted to enquire details about polling but they allowed me to do it only through a polling agent. Some among the CPM cadres even threatened to hack my leg.

Assailants also barged into the house of Youth Congress Vice President Shibna and threatened her. This all comes from nervousness and the fear of losing their former bastion of Vadakara.