Cong. alleges ‘vote chori’ in Kochi Corporation

With the final voter rolls of the civic body polls due to be published on November 14, the Congress has raised the specter of “vote cories” within Kochi Corporation limits, with applications using the same house number under different house names and alleged attempts to sneak in among voters by submitting fake leases.

District Congress Committee (DCC) president Muhammad Shiyas alleged that there were concerted efforts to register fake voters under the guise of employees of various organizations and through fake lease agreements. He said that in cases where fraudulent applications were discovered, applicants were still not attending the ongoing hearings.

“We will review the final voter list and file complaints in certain cases where discrepancies are detected. Election authorities have not clarified the steps taken regarding the 6,500-odd copies we have marked in the recently published voter rolls,” Mr. Shiyas said.

Congress councilor Henry Austin alleged that voters were fraudulently added to the electoral rolls in Vaduthala East division. “In a clear indication of fraud, photocopies of four stamp papers dated June and November 2024 were used for 15 different lease agreements. These agreements were presented as proof of residence of 60 so-called employees of local organizations in five booths in the division. Of these, 18 applications were rejected by the election officials due to lack of proof of residence during field visits. Even residents of Alappuzha, Kannur and Thrissur districts as well as Vypeen, Kochi, Ernakulam and Aluva Assembly constituencies “It was fraudulently recorded this way,” he said.

Meanwhile, two residents of Athani and Health Center wards in Thrikkakara municipality, on Tuesday, November 11, 2025, filed a petition with the municipal secretary, who also serves as the election registrar, alleging that fake applications were filed using their names, house names and serial numbers in the voter list. In these applications, approximately 120 games were requested to be transferred to the relevant departments, 30 from each of the two regions. The petitioners stated that they did not apply in Form 7 (for transfers) or Form 5 (for deletions). They demanded that fake applications be rejected and action taken against those responsible.

Thrikkakara municipal officials confirmed that the applications would be rejected immediately as the applicants claimed that they were fraudulent. But they said it would be difficult to track down fake applicants.