Kerala Minister's brother-in-law claims omission of name from voter list

Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 22 As Kerala prepares for the two-phase local body elections on December 9 and 14, K. Mohandas, the brother-in-law of State Transport Minister K. B. Ganesh Kumar, and a retired IAS officer, has expressed concern over the "omission" of his name from the electoral roll.

Taking to his social media, he wrote, "I was formerly a voter in Kottarakkara and later moved to Thiruvananthapuram before settling there permanently. My wife, also a long-time Kottarakkara resident, continues to remain on the voter list, but my name was omitted from both constituencies ahead of the civic polls."

He disclosed that his online application for inclusion in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation electoral roll received no update, leading to the current exclusion, wrote Mohandas, a former Shipping Secretary.

Reflecting on his experience, Mohandas said he first realised the true value of a single vote during the previous local body election in Kottarakkara, when his preferred candidate lost by a single vote.

"Had I not voted, the margin would have doubled - from one to two," he noted.

He expressed frustration that the electoral system, rather than treating voting as a fundamental right, appears to function like a "discretionary privilege" extended by officials preparing the rolls.

"The right to vote is not an entitlement, but an act of generosity from officials compiling the list," he remarked.

Criticising neither the Chief Election Commissioner nor political leaders, he placed responsibility on the accuracy of local officials and the vigilance of voters themselves.

He also referred to instances where names were allegedly struck off, including that of a young woman named Vaishna, to illustrate how discrepancies in rolls affect democratic participation.

His wife will cast her vote in Kottarakkara on December 9, while he calls his own vote "a myth-imagined, conceptual".

As an act of symbolic civic participation, he says he will "vote" in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation's Muttada ward for Vaishna, standing for those whose names were omitted due to administrative lapses.

Twenty-four-year-old Congress candidate Vaishna had to approach the Kerala High Court, and it was after that, the authorities included her name in the voter list, enabling her to contest.

His account has sparked conversations about electoral roll integrity and voter awareness amid intensified revision activities across Kerala ahead of polling.

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