Election in Kerala was messed up, voting deliberately delayed: KC Venugopal

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a media face-to-face program organized by KPCC, AICC General Secretary KC Venugopal on Saturday said that the election process in the state was messed up. Venugopal also alleged that polling was deliberately delayed in booths where the UDF had an advantage.

"There was deliberate intervention to reduce voter turnout. 90 percent of the booths where polling was delayed are places where UDF has an upper hand. In this elections, the officials tortured the voters. There are booths where polling did not take place for three hours due to EVM malfunction," he said.

"There was no system even to give water to those who stood in line for five or six hours. When the polling continued late at night, women stood in the queue in the dark. Majority of the officials involved in the electoral roll process were pro-CPM. Many people found out that their name was not on the voter list after coming to the polling booth," Venugopal alleged.

"Thousands of names were removed from the list. Even the drinking water system was not provided. There was no lighting system in the booths. The entire electoral system has been hijacked by the CPM. The net effect of all this is to reduce turnout".

"An election like this has never been held in the history of Kerala. There is a pro-UDF wave enough to survive all this. There is an anti-central/state government sentiment and there is no point in these tactics. Legal action will be taken for messing up the polls," he added.