Kozhikode: The Congress District Committee has announced a hartal in Kozhikode from 6 am to 6 pm on Sunday following violent clashes during the polls to the Board of Directors, Service Cooperative Bank, Chevayur. All essential services will be exempted from the hartal and the party will approach the Kerala High Court seeking a stay on the election, said DCC President Praveen Kumar and MP M K Raghavan at a press conference on Saturday.

The election, held here at the Parayancheri Government Higher Secondary School under tight police security, saw heated confrontations between the official Congress panel, the CPM-backed Congress rebels, contesting under the Bank Protection Committee banner and the supporters of both sections. Tensions escalated when stones were hurled at vehicles transporting voters to the polling station. Visuals from the scene captured chaotic moments as police attempted to restore order amidst the unrest. Several vehicles sustained damage, with their windows shattered in the stone-pelting, said sources.

The Chevayur Service Cooperative Bank is one of the few cooperative institutions in Kozhikode that are still under Congress control. Factional disputes over the bank have persisted, with reports linking the clashes to longstanding tensions. The rebels, expelled from Congress after opposing M K Raghavan during the Lok Sabha elections, received CPM support to challenge the official Congress panel in the bank polls.

Adding to the controversy, allegations of fraudulent voting have surfaced, with voters accusing the current administration of orchestrating malpractice to influence the results. Due to the conflict, only 8,703 of the total 35,000 votes were polled.