Congress alleges election tampering in Kozhikode, says strong room with ballots opened; returning officer denies allegations

The United Democratic Front in Kerala alleged that there was an attempt at sabotaging the elections after the Strongroom in the Perambra constituency in Kozhikode district was allegedly opened on Monday morning. The District Congress Committee president alleged that they were not informed that the strong room, which has the EV machines at the Vellimadkunnu JDT Islam College of Arts and Science, would be opened today.

Congress leaders raised concerns, saying that the act was deliberate and called it a serious lapse in security.

However, Perambra’s Returning Officer has denied all such allegations.

The officer said that an adjacent unsealed room, which holds the polling records, was opened at around 11:30 pm to update information in the Encore software related to the election. He said that the room where the actual EV machines and the postal ballots were kept, was not opened. CCTV footage also confirmed the same.

Perambra’s UDF candidate, Fatima Tehlia, has also clarified that she was informed of the opening of the room. She said that she was contacted at around 8 am and asked to arrive on location at 9 am, Manorama News reported.