Union Minister Pralhad Joshi on Saturday urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) to prevent what he termed “widespread rigging” of postal ballots in Kerala by polling officials loyal to the CPI(M).
Mr. Joshi, in charge of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) election campaign in Kerala, asked the commission to put impartial officials in charge of the distribution and collection of the postal ballots. The distribution of the ballots and welfare pension were being carried out simultaneously to influence voters, he alleged.
Accusing Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala of acting against national interest by transferring electoral roll data to a “foreign agency”, Mr. Joshi said his party would file a complaint with the Election Commission in this regard. “The Opposition Leader has passed on the entire voters’ list to the foreign agency, which is a serious thing,” he said.
The BJP would expand in Kerala in terms of vote share and seats, he said. The Congress-led UDF was “sinking” in Kerala and the BJP would become the “most credible alternative”. “I appeal to the people to go for the most credible alternative, which is the BJP,” he said.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s questions to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan remained unanswered, Mr. Joshi said. Mr. Shah had posed the questions to Mr. Vijayan during his visit to Thiruvananthapuram. The Kerala Chief Minister owed answers to the people of Kerala, he said.
