Police on Wednesday registered a case against representatives of the BJP-led NDA in Palakkad constituency for allegedly bribing voters before the polling day.
The FIR alleges that at around 10 am on April 8, representatives of the alliance went house to house in Palakkad and distributed money to voters to influence the 2026 Assembly elections.
The complaint, filed under the provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Act and the Representation of People Act, termed the act as violation of election rules and bribery of voters.
According to the office of Chief Electoral Officer Rathan U Kelkar, the Election Commission has dispatched a flying squad to conduct an immediate investigation in the Kannadi constituency area in the wake of images aired on a few Malayalam TV news networks of a woman allegedly associated with BJP candidate Sobha Surendran handing over cash to an elderly voter. The photos were clicked by Congress workers during the silent campaign on Wednesday.
“Based on media reports, the Flying Squad recorded the testimony of 65-year-old Divo who had allegedly received money. The woman denied that she had received money. Although the key witness denied the allegation, the district collector, who is also the returning officer, has recommended a detailed investigation considering the seriousness of the allegations.”
The chief electoral officer said the investigation would ascertain whether there was a violation of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 and the Model Code of Conduct.
District Collector MS Madhavikutty also handed over his preliminary report to the district police chief.
Rejecting the accusations as politically motivated, Surendran said, “Congress workers targeted me with a pre-planned script and followed me over the past few days. One of the Congress workers even showed an obscene gesture at me.”
However, the local Congress unit in Palakkad on Wednesday released photographs of the woman, who was allegedly seen handing over money to the elderly voter, indicating her presence at BJP rallies in the constituency. The party alleged that Surendran was making false allegations to hide the truth.
The Palakkad constituency witnessed a high-voltage campaign between BJP’s Surendran, Congress’s Ramesh Pisharody and NMR Razak as a CPI(M)-backed independent. In the last three elections, BJP candidates finished second behind the Congress.
(with PTI inputs)
