Kozhikode DCC chief demands full VVPAT count, alleges poll tampering attempt

Kozhikode DCC president K Praveen Kumar on Monday demanded that all VVPAT slips in the district be counted, alleging attempts to tamper with the election process. The demand comes amid the Congresss recent allegation that the strongroom where EVMs of the Perambra constituency were stored had been opened by the returning officer-a claim denied by the Election Commission and the district administration.

Kozhikode DCC president K Praveen Kumar on Monday demanded that all VVPAT slips in the district be counted, alleging attempts to tamper with the election process. The demand comes amid the Congress's recent allegation that the strongroom where EVMs of the Perambra constituency were stored had been opened by the returning officer-a claim denied by the Election Commission and the district administration. The election for 140 Assembly seats was held on April 9, and the vote count will be held on May 4. ''We suspect there is an attempt to tamper with the election process in Kozhikode district. So, we have submitted a petition to the Election Commission seeking the counting of all VVPAT slips in the district,'' Kumar said. Kumar alleged that despite filing a complaint against the returning officer, no action had been taken so far. ''The district collector is protecting the officer who violated the rules. We have been trying to meet him for two days, but no appointment was given,'' he said. Earlier, the Congress and the UDF had alleged that the strongroom at JDT College, where EVMs of the Perambra constituency were stored, had been opened by the returning officer. They alleged that the entry of any state official or state police personnel into the designated area amounts to a violation of Election Commission rules. However, the returning officer, in a statement, said that an unsealed room where polling records for the Perambra constituency were kept was opened in the presence of polling agents of the candidates to update election-related information in the software.