Kerala: Five voter IDs in name of single person found
(Sourced from PTI)
An electoral officer in poll-bound Kerala was suspended after five voter identity cards in the name of Kumari, a 61-year-old voter, were found generated in the computer system at Uduma in Kasaragod district. However, only one of these was issued to her and the other four were canceled. Chief Electoral Officer Teeka Ram Meena said the Assistant Electoral Registration Officer in Uduma was suspended.
A detailed probe was conducted after Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala complained of irregularities in the preparation of voters lists. Meena said they also found 590 double entries which are there in many states due to a variety of reasons. "We were not able to find any political motive. If it is there, I can't say. That doesn't come under my purview," he added.
Meena warned that strict action would be taken against officers if foul play is detected in the voter card issuing exercise. Multiple entries are nothing new and exist in all states and might happen while applying for the cards. "Applying for a voter ID card is an online process and many people may apply several times by mistake," Meena said.
"Sometimes an application gets processed three to four times. Many people shift their constituencies and addresses and apply for a voter ID card at the new place, but their names are still in their earlier place. That comes as double entry," Meena said.
Demographically Similar Entries (DSEs) are normally removed before the election notification and not after it. "Over 60,000 DSEs were removed before January this year. But after January, over nine lakh applications reached us. As of now, we cannot remove them while the state goes for election." Meena said. "The exercise will be done after the polls," he further added.
Booth wise lists are being prepared and would be handed over to presiding officers. "We have ordered a detailed investigation in all the 140 constituencies," Meena said. The Chief Electoral Officer also said that the C-VIGIL mobile application received over 67,000 complaints on violation of the model code of conduct, following which over six lakh posters and banners were removed across the state.
There are 290 third gender voters this time among 2,74,46,039 voters in Kerala. Out of this number, 1,32,83724 are men and 1,41,62,025 are women. A total of 1,061 nominations were found valid out of 2,180 nominations. A total of 957 candidates are currently in the fray on Monday, the last date for withdrawal of nominations. The results will be announced on May 2.
