DCC president, LDF candidate allege large-scale voters’ list manipulation in Thrissur LS poll

In a major political flashpoint ahead of the next electoral cycle, Thrissur District Congress Committee (DCC) president Joseph Tajet and Communist Party of India (CPI) State council member and the LDF candidate in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in Thrissur V.S. Sunilkumar have levelled serious allegations of large-scale voters’ list manipulation in the Thrissur parliamentary constituency.

Both leaders claim that non-residents were illegally added to the rolls using closed houses and vacant flats as cover addresses, with Mr. Tajet directly implicating Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate, and currently MP, Suresh Gopi.

‘Documentary evidence’

Presenting what he described as “documentary evidence,” Mr. Tajet alleged that the names of Mr. Gopi, his brother Subhash Gopi, and their family members were added to booth No. 116, under serial numbers 1016 to 1026, just months before the election. “These votes were registered under the address ‘Bharath Heritage,’ house number 10/219/2. Even after the family vacated the property post-election, their votes remain active on the Election Commission’s Voter Helpline app,” Mr. Tajet said.

He pointed out that the Thrissur Corporation’s official voter list for Division 11 – Mukkattukara, Part 2 – did not include these names, which, according to him, “proves they are not permanent residents of the said address.”

The DCC chief alleged a similar case in Booth No. 30, where 45 names were added under addresses such as Capital Gardens, Top Paradise, Chaitram IDBI, Capital Village, and Sreesankari apartments. “Not one of them lived there before or after the election. Yet their votes are still active,” Mr. Tajet said, adding that other complexes including Shobha Sapphire, Shobha City, Chelur Country Court, Shakthi Apartments, Water Lily Flats, Govind Apartments, and Shobha Top Plaza also had fraudulent additions. “None of them are on the Corporation’s voters’ list,” he said.

“These are not isolated incidents,” Mr. Tajet said. “When the BJP itself boasts about adding 65,000 votes, the public has a right to know if this was the method used. This is a blot on democracy. The Election Commission must act. It is sad that Mr. Gopi himself started these irregularities,” he added.

Clarifying on complaint

Mr. Sunilkumar echoed the charge, going further to question the conduct of the returning officer. “There is reason to suspect that the then Thrissur District Collector V.R. Krishna Theja, the returning officer, misled the Chief Electoral Officer,” he said.

Mr. Sunilkumar claimed that the LDF had officially complained about the irregularities before the polls, naming specific individuals who were allegedly added to the voters list just before the LS elections from other constituencies. “My chief election agent, K.P. Rajendran, filed a complaint on March 25, 2024, and even submitted a follow-up with names. The Chief Electoral Commissioner’s claim that no timely complaint was made and we didn’t use opportunity to file petition in the High Court are false and misleading. It raises the question, who was being protected?”

He also alleged that “technical issues” were encountered while attempting to access the Election Commission site recently, calling it suspicious.

‘Ineligible people voted’

“After the first draft list, BJP workers added new votes. Simply owning a house in an area doesn’t make one a voter there. We even found voters from Alathur and Thrippunithura added to Thrissur. By relaxing the rules, ineligible people were given voting rights,” he said.

Both leaders demanded a high-level probe into what they called “systematic voters list manipulation” and warned that failing to act would undermine public trust in the democratic process.