VD Satheesan accuses P. Sarin of unfair voter registration in Palakkad

Palakkad: The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) on Friday accused the Left Democratic Front (LDF) candidate for the Palakkad by-elections, P. Sarin, of unfairly securing voter registration. The UDF alleged that Sarin had obtained a residency certificate for the constituency with the help of the BJP. However, Sarin, who was the Congress’ digital media convener before being removed from the party, and his wife have denied these allegations.

Leader of the Opposition VD Satheesan claimed that Sarin had only lived in the constituency for about three months but had managed to obtain a residency permit, which usually requires at least six months of continuous residence in a place. Satheesan suggested that this was made possible because the municipality is under the control of the BJP, and alleged that Sarin had used fake documents to obtain the certificate.

Satheesan further stated that Sarin and his wife had never actually lived in the house they own in the constituency as it was rented out. He accused both the BJP and the CPM of fraudulently adding voters to the electoral roll and announced that the UDF would challenge these actions after the by-elections, PTI reported.

In response, Sarin and his wife dismissed Satheesan’s claims as “unsubstantiated”. They maintained that they had been living in their house in Palakkad constituency for several years since they bought it in 2018. Sarin’s wife also criticized the opposition leader, stating that family members not involved in politics should not be involved in such disputes. She further said that while working in Sharjah, she had seen media reports in which Satheesan and other leaders accused her of wrongly obtaining a voter ID card based on a Palakkad address.

At a joint press conference, Sarin acknowledged that he and his wife had voted from Ottapalam constituency in the 2024 general elections. However, he wondered what was wrong with getting a voter ID in Palakkad as he had a residential address in the constituency. Sarin explained that Satheesan may have been misled by the fact that he had been living in rented accommodation near his own home. He added that he moved into the rented space to avoid inconveniencing the tenants of his own home, especially since many people would visit him during the campaign.