THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Poll panel has finally taken action on the double votes controversy. The voters’ list in all 140 constituencies will be scrutinized. District collectors have been given due directions in this regard. After scrutinizing the voters’ list, a separate list of voters having double votes will be prepared. The list will be prepared using special software. Following this, officials have to meet voters with double votes and give them adequate awareness of the gravity of the issue. The poll panel has asked officials concerned to prepare the voters list and to complete the scrutiny process as quickly as possible. The commission has also asked those with double votes to continue in the polling booth until the ink on their fingers is not dried up.

Chief electoral officer Teekaram Meena has also said that the opposition leader’s allegation of voters having double votes is right. The double votes have come to light on the preliminary inquiry conducted by district collectors, on Chennithala’s complaint. Chennithala in his complaint has said that there are four lakh double voters across the state. Teekaram Meena has confirmed the presence of double voters. In the press conference conducted by the chief electoral officer, he has publicized the official details of the double voters.

These are as follows:

District Total booths Double votes
Kottayam 1,606 590
Idukki 1,168 434
Palakkad 2,400 800
Tavanoor 4,395 70% of voters

Meena has also suspended the deputy Tahasildar of the Uduma constituency and declared a probe against him. Kumari, a voter from the constituency about whom the opposition leader has mentioned in his press conference had five voter’s ID cards, and all of them were issued without the consent of booth level officers.