Stephan Kayyar

Daijiworld Media Network – Kasaragod (EP)

Kasaragod, April 3: Amidst the filing of nominations for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, chaos erupted at the office of the deputy commissioner as candidates from the Congress and CPI(M) engaged in protests.

Congress candidate Raj Mohan Unnithan submitted his nomination on Wednesday, March 3, at the deputy commissioner's office. UDF district president Kallatra Mahin Haji, MLA N A Nellikunnu, A K M Ashraf, and others. were in attendance.

Following suit, CPI(M) candidate M V Balakrishnan Master filed his nomination with the deputy commissioner and election officer K Inbasekar, accompanied by party workers. Former MP P Karunakaran, MLA C H Kunhambu, E Chandrashekaran, and Azeez Kadappura were present.

Candidates from other parties, including BJP's Ashwini M L and dummy candidate M Velayudhan, BSP's M Sukumari, and independent candidate T Anish Kumar and Keshava Naik, had already submitted their nominations.

However, the nomination process was not without contention, as commotion and protests erupted among the MPs during the filing of nominations at the DC office premises.

MP Raj Mohan Unnithan alleged that he should have been allowed to file his nomination first, stating, "I arrived to obtain the token at 9 am. But CPI(M) candidate M V Balakrishnan, who arrived later, has been allowed to file the nomination before me."

Joining in the protest, MLA M V Balakrishnan and N A Nellikunnu participated in sit-in demonstrations. The deputy commissioner had implemented a token system for candidates arriving simultaneously.

While the DC had announced that tokens would be issued at 9 am, it was revealed that Azeez Kadapura had obtained the first token for a CPI(M) candidate at 7 am and departed. When the nomination process commenced at 11 am, M V Balakrishnan was allowed to file his nomination, sparking objections from Unnithan, who accused the election officer of favouring the ruling party. 

Allegations with respect to anomaly in nomination process baseless, clarifies DC

The deputy commissioner, K Inbasekar, also serving as the returning officer for the Kasargod Lok Sabha Constituency, has clarified that the nomination process has been conducted in a fair and transparent manner, and all allegations made by the candidate are unfounded.

As previously announced through a press release, nominations were accepted until April 4 at 3:00 pm. To manage the process efficiently, a help desk was set up in front of the district collector/election officer’s chamber to issue tokens to candidates arriving to file their nominations. It was clearly stated that either the candidate or their proposer could obtain the token by presenting the duly filled nomination proposals.

Following the protocol outlined in the press release, tokens were issued on April 3 at 10 am. The first token was issued to Azeez Kadappuram, the proposer of M V Balakrishnan, who arrived at 7:06:22 am. The second token was issued to Sri Rajmohan Unnithan, who arrived at 8:55:45 am but declined to accept the token. These details are verifiable through CCTV footage recorded at the site.

Thus, the district collector has reaffirmed that all allegations regarding anomalies in the nomination process are unsubstantiated.