CPI(M) out to sabotage assembly elections in Kerala, says Congress leader

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM (Jan 28: HS): With the possibilities of a total wipe out in the upcoming assembly election staring at them, the CPI(M) in Kerala has launched a massive drive to rig the election for retaining power in the State.

As a prelude to manipulate the polling, the CPI(M) is busy deploying party loyalists in Kerala Government Service as polling officers and electoral staff to man all the polling booths in the State. K C Joseph, MLA and former minister who is the deputy leader of the Congress Legislature Party has written to the Election Commission of India about the manipulations being staged by the CPI(M) in Kerala.

Joseph said in a statement that the CPI(M) leadership was busy chalking out strategies to sabotage  the electoral process in the State by hiring only  staff members affiliated to the Marxist trade unions  for election duty. “Government Staff who do not subscribe to the ideology of the Kerala CPI(M) and those who are members of trade unions affiliated to other political parties are kept away from poll duties,” said Joseph.

He also pointed out that the Social Justice Department of the State is planning to introduce postal votes to all those voters who are above 80 years of age and those who are physically challenged. “This too is with an intention to manipulate the polling. Each booth in the State has at least 100 to 150 such voters and the CPI(M) activists are past masters in manipulation,” he said.

This is the second time in the last one month serious allegations have been raised against the CPI(M) for electoral  malpractices. Early this month Prof  K M Sreekumar of Kerala Agricultural University , who heads the CPI(M) controlled teachers’ wing had openly declared that a party MLA by Kunhiraman who represents Uduma assembly constituency had threatened him when he objected large scale manipulations during the recently held local body election in the State. “When I saw people who had cast their votes turning up again and again to cast votes impersonating as other voters, they objected to it. Kunhiraman who rushed to booth warned me that he would get my legs chopped if I do not allow the impersonators to cast votes,” Sreekumar had said  in his social media page.

But Chief Minister Pinarayi Viujayan scoffed at the allegations made by Prof Sreekumar and said Kunhiraman was the best person he has ever seen.