Even with three days to go for the Palakkad bye-election, allegations and counter-allegations continue unabated in the constituency. In the latest, Soumya Sarin, a doctor and wife of Left Democratic Front (LDF) candidate Dr P Sarin, vehemently criticised Congress leaders during a press conference on Friday, November 15, expressing frustration at being labelled as a fake voter.
A recent claim by Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) vice president and Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan has added fuel to the fire. He alleged that Sarin and his wife, Soumya, were not voters of the constituency. “The names of the LDF candidate and his wife have been added at the end to the voter list. He is not from here. He is originally from Thiruvilwamala. He changed his vote to Ottapalam in the last election to contest from there. Now he has changed it to here. The CPI(M) district secretary should go and stop them. It is okay to change votes, but they should have resided in the house for six months. But he has not stayed here. They took a rented place here, keeping the elections in mind. The certificate he has submitted is forged,” Satheesan charged.
In response, Soumya said, “I was born in Palakkad and wanted to have a parcel of land and house here to live peacefully. I had obtained a loan from HDFC Bank to build this house. It was only recently that I paid it fully. The house was bought in 2018. I worked in Nenmara for five years before moving to Sharjah.”
She also said that she had made it clear that she does not want to get involved in politics and was residing in Sharjah for the past one and a half years and working as a paediatrician in a hospital there. “I have not even put up a WhatsApp status seeking votes for Sarin. But I have been consistently dragged into politics and ridiculed on social media. I did not come here to talk politics but against personal attacks and allegations that brand me as a fake voter,” she said.
Further, Soumya explained that she had been paying taxes and showed the documents. “The house is under my name. The ground floor has been given for rent, and I have a copy of the rental agreement. Sarin and I have also received the voter ID for this house address. For someone with self-respect, I cannot sit and not respond to being dragged into a controversy and called a fraud. Don’t see me as Sarin’s wife; such a mindset is archaic. I am a different person, and my political stance is also different,” she added.
Sarin said that it was his decision to choose where he should vote and asked which law stops them from changing their vote to different places. “On what grounds does the Opposition Leader claim that I have not been residing in Palakkad for the last six months? I have had a rented house in Ottapalam and frequently visit a property in Thiruvilwamala owned by my mother. Additionally, the upper floor of our house in Palakkad has always been kept vacant for my use. Is it necessary for me to justify where I stay each night?” he said, adding that it was Congress and the BJP who were adding bogus names to the voters list.