This Election Petition is filed by one of the defeated candidates challenging the election of the first respondent to the House of People from 12 H.P. Muvattupuzha Parliamentary Constituency in the election held on 10.5.2004. The first respondent won the election with a margin of 529 votes over the petitioner who got second largest number of votes. While the petitioner was the candidate from CPI (M), a constituent of Left Democratic Front, the first respondent was the candidate from the Indian Federal Democratic Party, a constituent of the National Democratic Alliance, and the second respondent who also contested the election on party lines was from Kerala Congress (M), a constituent of the United Democratic Front. When the first respondent secured 2,56,411 votes, the election petitioner got 2,55,882 votes and the second respondent secured 2,09,880 votes. Respondents 3 to 15 contested the election as independents and all of them got insignificant number of votes compared to the total number of votes polled, that is, 7,45,885 out of which 7,45,871 were valid votes. Petitioner’s case is that the first respondent won the election with a narrow margin of 529 votes over him