KOTTAYAM: Soon after the polling for Pala-by election came to an end, senior journalist George Kallivayalil came out with a Facebook post criticizing the BJP. He said that several BJP members present at the polling booth forced his 87-year-old mother to leave the booth without casting her vote. He added that such arrogance displayed by the party members is the major reason behind BJP's dismal performance in the state.

George Kallivayalil's facebook post reads, "How can some politicians be such arrogant even towards the elderly people? It seems that they have lost love and respect for others by blindly following their party and its politics. This is the main reason behind the BJP's failure in Kerala. Today, my mother experienced one such arrogant behaviour from the BJP members at the Mallikassery polling booth. On reaching the polling booth, she discovered that she had brought only her Aadhaar card. She soon informed this to the officials and they even allowed her to vote as they realised that the photo shown in the Aadhaar card is of the same person shown in the voters' list. Even the LDF and UDF agents present there approved of it. However, some BJP members soon interfered and prevented her from voting. Following their protest, she was forced to go back to and return with her election id. Thus my mother had to travel around 60 kilometres for the sake of casting her vote.

Such politicians who do not care for a voter's age and truth must be aptly punished by the public. I would also like to applaud my mother for her respect for the democratic system."