Cong. alleges ‘vote chori’ in Kochi Corporation

With the final electoral rolls for the local body polls set to be published on November 14, the Congress has raised the spectre of “vote chori” within Kochi Corporation limits, alleging attempts to sneak in voters by submitting applications that use the same house number under different house names and forged rental agreements.

District Congress Committee (DCC) president Mohammed Shiyas alleged that there were concerted efforts to enroll bogus voters under the guise of employees of various establishments and through fake rental agreements. He said that in cases where fraudulent applications were exposed, the applicants failed to appear for hearings, which are currently under way.

“We will vet the final voters’ list and lodge complaints in specific cases where discrepancies are identified. Election authorities have not clarified the steps being taken regarding the 6,500-odd duplications we flagged in the last published electoral rolls,” said Mr. Shiyas.

Congress councillor Henry Austin alleged that voters had been fraudulently added to the electoral rolls in the Vaduthala East division. “In a clear indication of fraud, photocopies of four stamp papers dated June and November 2024 were used for 15 different rental agreements. These agreements were submitted as proof of residency of 60 purported employees of local establishments across five booths in the division. Of these, 18 applications were rejected by election authorities after site visits failed to establish proof of residence. Even residents from Alappuzha, Kannur and Thrissur districts, as well as from Vypeen, Kochi, Ernakulam, and Aluva Assembly constituencies, have been fraudulently enrolled in this manner,” he said.

Meanwhile, two residents of Athani and Health Centre wards in Thrikkakara municipality petitioned the municipal secretary—who also serves as the electoral registration officer—on Tuesday (November 11, 2025), alleging that forged applications had been submitted using their names, house names, and serial numbers in the voters’ list. These applications sought the transposition of around 120 votes—30 each from both wards—out of their respective divisions. The petitioners stated that they had not filed applications in Form 7 (for transposition) or Form 5 (for deletions). They demanded that the bogus applications be rejected and action taken against those responsible.

Thrikkakara municipal authorities confirmed that the applications would be rejected straight away, as the applicants themselves claimed they were fraudulent. However, tracking down those who filed the fraudulent applications would be tough, they said.