ALAPPUZHA: The State Election Commission (SEC) has initiated proceedings in response to a controversial expose by former minister and senior CPM leader G Sudhakaran regarding alleged tampering of postal ballots during the 1989 Lok Sabha elections in the Alappuzha constituency.

Speaking at a gathering of former NGO Union leaders in Alappuzha on Wednesday, Sudhakaran admitted that postal ballots cast in favour of the opposition were altered to support the CPM candidate, K V Devadas.

At the time, Sudhakaran served as the secretary of the election committee. In his speech, he said, ballots cast by members of service organisations were collected and brought to the party office. “Roughly 15% had voted for the rival candidate. We examined and modified those ballots.” He also remarked that he wouldn’t be concerned even if the Election Commission were to take legal action.

Following multiple complaints from the public demanding action, the SEC instructed District Election Officer and Collector Alex Varghese to obtain a formal statement from Sudhakaran. Acting on this directive, a tahsildar visited Sudhakaran’s residence on Thursday and recorded his statement.

In the speech Sudhakaran said that there was no obligation for all NGO Union members to vote for the LDF. “The NGO Union is a non-political organisation. People affiliated with any party can be a part of it. However, during elections, one should openly declare whom they are voting for. Do not think that if you seal the postal ballot and hand it over, no one will know your decision,” he added.

In the 1989 election, Congress candidate Vakkom Purushothaman defeated CPM’s Devadas with a margin of more than 25,000 votes. The opposition parties have since condemned Sudhakaran’s admission and are calling for a thorough investigation into the matter.