The Congress backed its claim with electors’ data for each Parliament constituency in Kerala from the last three General Elections. The data stated that Thrissur saw an addition of 62,318 votes in 2019, while it added 1,46,656 (2.35x) votes in 2024. With 14.83 lakh votes, Thrissur became the largest constituency in the state, as per the data.
The Congress said it was reported that the saffron party did a large-scale voter registration a few months before the elections. Referring to the alleged modus operandi of the BJP, the Congress said empty house and apartment addresses were used to enroll people at scale.
The Congress alleged that Gopi’s family was added to the voter list of Thrissur while members were residing in Thiruvanathapuram.
“Suresh Gopi’s family lives in Sasthamangalam, Thiruvananthapuram. 11 votes were added under the name “Bharath Heritage” at the Nettissery residence where Suresh Gopi was residing in Thrissur, for adding all his family members to the Thrissur voters list, while they were residing in Thiruvananthapuram. There are many more such additions which resulted in the manipulated voters list, where non-residents of Thrissur were added at scale,” the party said.
The Congress has been up in arms alleging voter fraud and the Election Commission colluding with the BJP to win elections. Last week, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi claimed voter manipulation in the Bangalore Central and Mahadevapura seats of Karnataka. It had raised the ‘voter fraud’ issue in Maharashtra after the 2024 state assembly elections, questioning a sudden surge in voters vis-a-vis the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The Congress added, “The BJP didn’t have people’s mandate in the 2024 General Elections. And Modi would have lost from Varanasi if not for frauds.”
Kerala BJP reacts
State BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar said any illegality in connection with the election of a candidate during polls should be raised before the Election Commission or the courts, “instead of spreading lies to fool and provoke the public”.
The Congress and CPI alleged that Gopi filed a false declaration during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and that his victory from Thrissur was due to voter list manipulation.
The Congress has lodged a complaint with the police demanding registration of a criminal case against him.
Gopi won the Thrissur seat by over 74,000 votes, defeating Kumar and Congress candidate K Muraleedharan.
State General Education Minister V Sivankutty urged the EC to carry out a re-election in the Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency, in the wake of reports of widespread voters’ list manipulation.
