Cong candidate in Kerala suspects foul play as list of poll officials leaked, one suspended

Pathanamthitta (Kerala): After the Congress candidate in the Pathanamthitta Lok Sabha seat in Kerala alleged foul play in the leaking of a list of election officials, the district collector in Kerala on Thursday suspended one officer.

Kerala goes to the polls on Friday to elect 20 new Lok Sabha members.

Anto Antony the Congress candidate and three-time MP from Pathanamthitta Lok Sabha seat alleged that this was the work of the CPI(M) backed organisations after the list was found to have made its way to several people on Wednesday.

“This is a serious issue as this list should come out only in the morning when the poll officials arrive at the designated place in the district. The Left organisations are out to create trouble in the district which will enable their supporters to cast votes at multiple places,” said Anto Antony.

Antony and his supporters on Thursday morning sat on a protest before the district authorities and said he would move out only after action was taken against the wrongdoers.

Based on the complaint, the district collector after a preliminary probe suspended one official, Yadu Krishnan, an Upper Division clerk.

Krishnan is understood to have forwarded this message instead of some other files and was an error.

“Things are now clear that a wrong has taken place and this cannot be done by just one official, as there are others too,” added Antony.

Meanwhile, the CPI(M) led Left candidate Thomas Isaac dismissed all these as baseless as Antony has sensed his defeat and, hence the excuses.

The two are pitted against the BJP-led NDA candidate, Anil Antony, the son of former Defence Minister and Congress leader A.K. Antony.