Congress slams Union Minister Suresh Gopi over updated voters' list

The Congress in Kerala on Monday took a dig at Union Minister Suresh Gopi over the updated voters' list published in the state as per the SIR, indicating he has cast his vote from two different places. The Congress alleged that the lone BJP Lok Sabha MP from the state has been included as a voter in a polling station at Guruvayur in his constituency here. Congress leader Anil Akkara criticised the actor-turned-politician, claiming that he had cast his vote from two different locations in previous elections. Gopi had cast his vote in the last Lok Sabha polls from Thrissur, Akkara said in a Facebook post. However, during the recent local body elections, he cast his vote from Thiruvananthapuram, Akkara said, adding that in the upcoming Assembly election, his vote is in Guruvayur. There was no immediate response from Gopi regarding the allegations. Last year, the Congress had alleged that Gopi submitted a false declaration to be included in the voters' list for the Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency ahead of the 2024 general election. A group of senior Congress leaders, led by former MP T N Prathapan, had even lodged a complaint with the city police commissioner demanding that a criminal case be registered against Gopi. Gopi, now serving as Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Tourism, won the Thrissur seat by a significant margin of over 74,000 votes, defeating CPI's V S Sunil Kumar and Congress candidate K Muraleedharan in a closely fought three-cornered contest.