The Election Commission (EC) has warned Left Democratic Front (LDF) candidate for the Thrissur Lok Sabha seat V.S. Sunil Kumar against using a photograph with actor Tovino Thomas for election campaign.
Mr. Sunil Kumar, former Agriculture Minister, who visited the shooting location of Tovino recently, posted on social media his picture with the actor, who is an ambassador for the Election Commission’s Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation Programme (SVEEP). The LDF candidate later removed the post after the actor raised concerns about the issue on social media.
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) filed a complaint with the District Collector against Mr. Sunil Kumar’s alleged violation of the poll code. In the complaint, NDA’s Thrissur district coordinator Ravikumar Uppath alleged that the LDF candidate used the actor’s photo to seek votes, violating the Model code of Conduct.
Subsequently an explanation was sought from the LDF candidate and CPI’s district secretary. As per their explanation to the EC, they didn’t know that the actor was SVEEP ambassador and that the post has since been deleted.
They were directed not to repeat such actions anymore.
