FIR to be registered over veteran Kerala CPI(M) leader’s claim of tampering postal ballots

Thiruvananthapuram, May 15 A controversial statement by veteran CPI(M) leader and former state minister G. Sudhakaran, in which he admitted to tampering with postal ballots during the 1989 Lok Sabha elections in Alappuzha, has drawn the attention of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Kerala.

The CEO has now directed the Alappuzha District Collector to register a case and initiate a detailed investigation.

On Thursday afternoon, the Alappuzha Tahsildar, accompanied by a few other officials, visited the residence of Sudhakaran to record his statement.

“We have taken his statement and will be submitting our report to the District Collector today itself. The Collector will then forward it to the Chief Electoral Officer,” said the Tahsildar.

Later, speaking to the media, Sudhakaran confirmed the visit. “Yes, the officials spoke to me, and I have given my statement,” he said.

When asked if he feared any consequences following the disclosure, he responded promptly, “Why should I? I haven’t committed any murder, so there’s nothing to fear.”

Sudhakaran, known for his outspoken views, made the revelation at a meeting of a CPI(M)-backed service organization in his hometown. Now retired from active politics, he claimed that while overseeing election duties in 1989, he and others manipulated postal votes to favor the party’s candidate.

“We were in charge of the elections and brought the postal ballots to our committee office. We discovered that not all employees affiliated with our organization had voted for our candidate. So, we tampered with the ballots. Our people should vote for our candidate, but that doesn’t always happen,” Sudhakaran said in his speech.

He added defiantly, “I don’t care even if the Election Commission takes legal steps against me for this disclosure.”

In the 1989 polls, CPI(M) fielded K.V. Devadas against Congress candidate Vakkom Purushothaman.

A video of Sudhakaran’s remarks went viral on Thursday, prompting a swift response from the Election Commission, which is now examining the legal implications of his admission.

The Congress-led UDF has long accused the CPI(M) of manipulating the electoral process -- from the preparation of voters’ lists to alleged bogus voting. Sudhakaran’s statement, they say, is a direct confirmation of those claims.

Reacting to the controversy, senior Congress leader and former MP K. Muraleedharan said: “This is not a one-off incident. It reflects a pattern in CPI(M)’s electoral conduct. The Election Commission must take serious note of this and act accordingly.”

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