Cong. rebel faction backed by CPI(M) claims victory in Kozhikode bank election; Cong. alleges malpractices

Election chaos at Parayancheri school as voters clash, fake IDs caught, and police struggle to control situation.

Nothing short of a spectacle unfolded outside the Government Higher Secondary School for Boys at Parayancheri in Kozhikode city where an election to pick directors for the Chevayur Service Cooperative Bank was held on Saturday.

Voters coming from far-off places to exercise their franchise; some people running away from the booth after they were reportedly caught with fake voter ID cards; damaging of vehicles carrying voters; scuffle between the supporters of rival candidates; a large posse of police personnel often finding it difficult to control the situation; some voters returning home after noticing that their votes have already been cast; sit-in protest by Kozhikode MP M.K. Raghavan and senior Congress leaders; and, evening showers to top it all.

The election had hit the headlines as a rebel faction of Congress leaders, supported by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)], was fighting the poll battle against the official faction supported by the District Congress Committee (DCC) to gain control of the bank. It was a prestige issue for the Congress as it was among the few financial institutions with solid assets in the district controlled by the party. When the results were declared by around 8 p.m., all the seven candidates put up by the rebel faction, along with four CPI(M) nominees, emerged victorious. A final word, however, is yet to be out on this as the Congress is likely to legally challenge the whole process, claiming that the CPI(M), with the support of the police and officials from the Cooperation department, have resorted to unfair and undemocratic methods to win the election. The party has also called for a dawn-to-dusk hartal in Kozhikode district on Sunday.

The election process began at 8 a.m. when the voters, who are members of the cooperative institution, trickled in from different parts of Kozhikode, some even from other districts. A large number of people owing allegiance to both factions, including senior CPI(M) and Congress leaders, were seen outside the school. Then came reports that some people with fake ID cards had been caught. Some voters, including senior citizens, claimed that their votes were found to have been polled by others. Soon, there was a scuffle between both the factions, and sloganeering started. A group of Congress workers allegedly tried to barge into a booth. They were opposed by a section of CPI(M) supporters. Later, the police had to enter the scene to bring the situation under control. However, the tension resumed in the afternoon when both the factions almost came to blows. There were allegations that only selected voters were being allowed to enter the booth.

After the voting process ended at 4 p.m., only close to 8,500 of the total around 35,000 votes were reportedly cast. Mr. Raghavan and K. Praveen Kumar, DCC president, demanded in a press meet that the election be cancelled. They also claimed that the CPI(M) had indulged in large-scale violence, and P.M. Niyas, KPCC general secretary, had been injured in the melee. The United Democratic Front has supported the hartal call.