Kerala Chief Electoral Officer warns political parties against invoking Sabarimala row during Lok Sabha polls campaign

In a stern warning to political parties, Kerala Chief Electoral Officer TR Meena said on Monday that any propaganda relating to the Sabarimala judgement will amount to violation of the model code of conduct. Meena asserted that invoking the Sabarimala issue or the 28 September Supreme Court verdict, which allowed the entry of women of all age groups in the shrine, may invite action against the relevant political party. [caption id=“attachment_6236481” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Kerala Chief Election Officer TR Meena. ANI[/caption] During his visit to the state in January, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had slammed the ruling Left Democratic Front government regarding the Sabarimala imbroglio, saying the state will face a Tripura-like situation if the CPM government continued to overlook what the people want. Modi has visited the state twice since January. BJP chief Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath have also invoked the issue on their visits to Kerala. While announcing dates of the Lok Sabha polls on Sunday, Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora had announced the the model code of conduct would be effective from the same day. The polls will be held over seven phases, with the voting in the first phase to be held on 11 April and counting of votes for all phases to be held on 23 May. Lok Sabha polls will be held in Kerala in a single phase . The state will vote from 20 Lok Sabha constituencies on 23 April. Protests were witnessed after the apex court’s order. Only two women could enter the Lord Ayyappa Temple.