A “curious” case of political parties discovering at the last minute that their candidates are missing from the voter list is threatening to cancel conflicting campaigns in at least two corporations and one municipality as the deadline for nominations for local elections approaches.
In Kozhikode, the Congress found itself in a tailspin after it belatedly discovered to its dismay that senior United Democratic Front mayoral candidate VM Vinu was not on the voters’ rolls. He was not on the list in 2020 either.
A Congress insider said Mr. Vinu is “almost” a consensus candidate and finding a last-minute replacement for him without ruffling feathers is likely to be a task fraught with political and organizational complexities.
Vaishna Suresh of Congress from Thiruvananthapuram Corporation’s Muttada ward seems to be in the same boat as Mr. Vinu. Ms. Suresh publicly expressed disbelief that she had been struck off the list. (The CPI(M) complained to the election officials that she had provided a rented address for registration and her vote was in a different constituency.)
Both Mr. Vinu and Ms. Suresh applied for re-inclusion in the electoral roll.
In Kannur, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) scrambled to find a last-minute replacement for Jabbar Ibrahim, the LDF candidate for the Bakkalam division of Anthoor municipality, after the party belatedly realized he had not appeared on the voters’ list. After much wringing, the lot finally fell to local leader TV Premarajan.
Both the LDF and the UDF found themselves in an unpleasant situation, having to explain to voters a possible change of candidate at the last minute. Both fronts are also facing the daunting task of taking down posters, billboards, graffiti and social media signs at the last minute to make way for new ones. Both fronts fear the political spat could have a ripple effect in other key battlegrounds.
The Congress and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) have been tacitly accusing their party workers of not being diligent enough in identifying and re-enfranchising voters struck off the electoral rolls.
First, CPI(M) state secretary MV Govindan rather gruffly reminded party workers of their “political and moral duty” to knock on doors and register voters at an election convention in Kannur on Monday.
All India Congress Committee, organization secretary, KC Venugopal, MP, said he saw a pattern in election officials striking UDF candidates from the voters’ list. “The CPI(M) and its service organizations are doing what the BJP has done to Congress candidates in other regions,” he said.
Published – 18 Nov 2025 21:06 IST
