Minor protests reported in Kerala polling over bogus vote allegations

ASsembly polling crossways Kerala progressed mostly peacefully, but protests were reported at several booths on th o'er allegations of fake voting.A minor scuffle broke out between Congress and BJP activists at Manalur in Thrissur district after UDF candidate T N Prathapan arrived in the area.According to police, BJP activists prevented people accompanying Prathapan from entering the booth premises, leading to the scuffle.ALSO READ | Preparations for poll day in full swing in KeralaIn Wadakkanchery, also in Thrissur district, a voter, Sajeev, was unable to cast his vote after election officials informed him that his vote had already been recorded as a postal ballot.This triggered protests by BJP activists, prompting police intervention.Although election officials offered to allow him to cast a tender vote, he declined.ALSO READ | Prepared for election, says Kondotty IUML candidate ahead of Kerala assembly pollsBJP candidate T S Ullas Babu later arrived at the booth and staged a protest.A similar incident occurred in Kuttiady, Kozhikode district, where a woman was denied the right to vote after it was found that her vote had already been cast as a postal ballot.At Malampuzha and Shoranur in Palakkad district, Thrikkaripur in Kasaragod, and Vattiyoorkavu in Thiruvananthapuram, complaints emerged that votes had been cast in the names of original voters, leading to protests.The affected voters were later permitted to cast tender votes.If a voter arrives at the polling station and finds someone has already voted in their name, they can inform the presiding officer. After satisfactorily proving their identity with valid documents, the voter is allowed to cast a tendered ballot instead of using the voting machine.In Kalpetta, Wayanad, a polling agent was removed after it was found that she was simultaneously working as an ASHA worker.ALSO READ | From margins to muscle, BJP’s Kerala push intensifiesIn a separate incident in Uduma, Kasaragod, a Congress agent was caught using "smart spectacles" inside a polling booth.At a polling booth in Badaje, Manjeshwar, Kasaragod, a defect was noticed in a voting machine that recorded more votes than were actually polled.Polling in all 140 Assembly constituencies in Kerala commenced at 7 am.The crucial elections will decide whether the ruling LDF will secure a straight third term, whether the UDF will make a comeback, or whether the BJP will spring a surprise in an otherwise bipolar contest.