Twist: Two NDA candidates missing from voter list cannot contest
Two prospective candidates of Twenty20, a political party that is part of the National Democratic Alliance in Kerala, had to be replaced after they were found ineligible to contest the Assembly election even before their nominations could be filed. Actors Lakshmi Priya and Veena Nair will not be able to contest the Perumbavoor and Ettumanoor seats respectively as both their names were absent in the voters’ list. As per Representation of the People Act, 1951, an individual can contest the Assembly election only if she/he is an elector in any of the constituencies in the state. Twenty20 chairman Sabu M Jacob had announced their candidature on March 18. March 23 is the last day for filing of nominations. While Veena claimed that her name went missing due to change of address, Lakshmi said on social media that her name got dropped during the special intensive revision (SIR). Both claimed that they had cast their votes in the past elections. Veena said that her name was in the rolls of Changanacherry constituency. Lakshmi said that her previous vote was in Thrissur and her name was not updated in the SIR due to change in address. Though both candidates made last minute attempts to get included into the electoral roll, poll officials said that the procedure could not be completed before March 22. As March 23 was the last date for filing nominations, the party decided to replace the candidates. Following this, Twenty 20 announced instagram influencer Athira D Nair as candidate for Ettumanoor and Jibi Varghese Pathikkal, a former Congress leader who recently switched to NDA, in Perumbavoor. Time for scrutinyChief Electoral Officer, Kerala, Ratan U Khelkar said that only those voter applications filed on or before March 15 could be treated as eligible for the upcoming polls. March 15 was taken as a deadline considering the fact that around 10 days would be required for enrolment procedures. He said applications received after March 15 would be processed after the election.
TWO prospective candidates of Twenty20, a political party that is part of the National Democratic Alliance in Kerala, had to be replaced after they were found ineligible to contest the Assembly election even before their nominations could be filed.
Actors Lakshmi Priya and Veena Nair will not be able to contest the Perumbavoor and Ettumanoor seats, respectively, as both their names were absent from the voters’ list. As per the Representation of the People Act, 1951, an individual can contest the Assembly election only if she/he is an elector in any of the constituencies in the state.
Twenty20 chairman Sabu M Jacob had announced their candidature on March 18. March 23 is the last day for filing nominations.
While Veena claimed that her name went missing due to a change of address, Lakshmi said on social media that her name got dropped during the special intensive revision (SIR). Both claimed that they had cast their votes in the past elections.
Veena said that her name was in the rolls of the Changanacherry constituency. Lakshmi said that her previous vote was in Thrissur and her name was not updated in the SIR due to an address change.
Though both candidates made last-minute attempts to get included in the electoral roll, poll officials said that the procedure could not be completed before March 22.
As March 23 was the last date for filing nominations, the party decided to replace the candidates. Following this, Twenty 20 announced Instagram influencer Athira D Nair as a candidate for Ettumanoor and Jibi Varghese Pathikkal, a former Congress leader who recently switched to NDA, in Perumbavoor.
Time for scrutiny
Chief Electoral Officer of Kerala, Ratan U Khelkar, said that only those voter applications filed on or before March 15 could be treated as eligible for the upcoming polls. March 15 was taken as a deadline, considering the fact that around 10 days would be required for enrolment procedures. He said applications received after March 15 would be processed after the election.
