Kerala CEO in all-out war against bogus voting

In a move to check bogus voting, Kerala's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Teeka Ram Meena on Sunday directed his officials to verify the webcams in 43 polling booths in the Kasargode Lok Sabha constituency, even as the ruling CPI-M has declared war on the CEO.

On Sunday morning, team of polling officials began examining entire visuals of the voting that took place at 43 polling booths in the Kasargode Lok Sabha constituency earlier identified as problematic. There are a total of 965 booths in the constituency.

In the past one week, Meena has been wielding the stick on bogus voting which has irked the ruling CPI-M. The party, on Friday, decided to seek the advice of its national leadership on what legal steps could be taken to rein in Meena.

Meena however is in no mood to relent and told the media that he will go to any extent to defend his actions.

"I am not under the state government and I am under the Election Commission. The Left leaders know me quite well as I have worked most of the time with the Left. I will go to any extent and to the Supreme Court, to defend our actions," the CEO said.

After verifying visuals, the CEO has asked the district collectors in Kannur and Kasargode to take legal action against four CPI-M workers including three women and also against, three Indian Union Muslim League workers who allegedly bogus voted in the Kannur Lok Sabha constituency.

Meanwhile, the Congress-led UDF on Sunday has submitted a fresh list of 199 bogus voters in the Kannur Lok Sabha constituency, who they have alleged are workers of the ruling LDF coalition led by CPI-M.

Incidentally, this list includes bogus voting in the Dharmadam assembly segment represented by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, under the Kannur Lok Sabha constituency.

On Sunday, the Congress Idukki district President Ibrahim Kutty Kallar has complained that bogus voting had taken place in the Idukki Lok Sabha constituency.

Kerala voted on April 23 for all its 20 Lok Sabha seats.

--IANS

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