Kerala elections: Man snatches nomination receipt issued by poll official

Kozhikode: Dramatic scenes unfolded at the Kozhikode collectorate during the scrutiny of nomination papers in the Elathur constituency on Tuesday after an unidentified person allegedly snatched the receipt issued to NCP (Ajith Pawar) candidate P K Saseendran and fled. LDF candidate and minister A K Saseendran is contesting as NCP (Sharad Pawar) candidate here. The controversy centred around the nomination of P K Saseendran, who filed papers both as a candidate of the NCP (Ajit Pawar) and as an independent. This prompted objections from the camp of A K Saseendran, who argued that a candidate cannot simultaneously contest as an independent and as a nominee of a registered political party. The returning officer, however, accepted P K Saseendran's nomination, clarifying that if his party nomination is upheld, the independent candidature would automatically become invalid. The situation took a dramatic turn when the candidate's lawyer briefly stepped out to take photocopies. During this time, an unidentified person allegedly took away the official receipt issued for the nomination and fled. P K Saseendran's camp filed a complaint, stating that the individual was not associated with them and alleged that the act was a deliberate attempt to block his candidature, particularly his claim to the ‘clock' symbol. Police have registered a case and launched a probe, including a review of CCTV footage at the collectorate. Election officials, meanwhile, clarified that the missing receipt would not affect the validity of the nomination.Notably, A K Saseendran had contested and won the Elathur seat in the 2021 assembly elections as NCP candidate in the ‘clock' symbol. NCP( Ajith Pawar) secured the symbol later after the split in the party.