Allegations of Electoral Fraud in Kerala's Thrissur Lok Sabha Seat

The Congress party has accused the BJP's candidate, actor-turned-politician Suresh Gopi, of manipulating the electoral rolls in Kerala's Thrissur Lok Sabha seat, leading to a complaint being filed with the Election Commission. The allegations, made by former Congress MP T N Prathapan, claim that Gopi and his family members were added to the voter list after the final list was published. This comes after Rahul Gandhi's accusations of "vote theft" in the state, which have found resonance in the Congress party.

Key Takeaways:

• The Congress party has filed a complaint against Suresh Gopi, alleging that he furnished a false declaration to be included in the voter list of the constituency.
• The allegations claim that Gopi and his family members were added to the voter list after the final list was published, despite having stayed in the constituency for less than the required six months.
• The Congress party is demanding that Gopi's vote in Thrissur be cancelled and a probe be conducted into the matter.
• The BJP had fielded Gopi in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls after his success in improving the party's vote share in Thrissur from 11.15% in 2014 to 28.2% in 2019.
• The CPI(M) has also joined the chorus of alleged electoral fraud, with general secretary M A Baby accusing the BJP of "adding 3,000 votes in the (Thrissur) constituency".
• The Election Commission has not yet responded to the allegations, but state General Education Minister V Sivankutty has demanded a repoll in the wake of the alleged "discrepancies".

Statistics:

• Suresh Gopi secured a 37.8% vote share in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, winning the Thrissur seat by a margin of over 74,000 votes.
• In 2019, Gopi had secured a 28.2% vote share, improving the BJP's vote share in Thrissur by 17.05% from 2014.
• The BJP's vote share in Thrissur increased by 17.05% from 11.15% in 2014 to 28.2% in 2019.

Sources:

• IE Online Media Services Pvt. Ltd., (2025)
• Contify.com.