A case was filed against Bharatiya Janata Party’s Kerala unit chief K Surendran on Thursday for allegedly bribing an Adivasi leader to contest the Assembly elections held in April as a candidate of the National Democratic Alliance, NDTV reported.
This is the second poll bribery case filed against Surendran in 10 days.
Parseetha Azheekode, the treasurer of Janathipathya Rashtriya Party, had alleged that Surendran paid Rs 10 lakh to his party’s suspended leader CK Janu to come back to the NDA, according to the news channel.
The FIR against Surendran was filed under Sections 171E (punishment for bribery) and 171F (punishment for undue influence in an election) of the Indian Penal Code, according to The Telegraph. Janu was named the second accused in the case.
On Wednesday, a court in Kerala’s Wayanad district had directed the police to register the case. The court’s order was based on a petition filed by PK Navas, the state president of the Indian Union Muslim League’s student wing.
Navas had sought the filing of a case against Surendran on the basis of purported audio clips exposing the bribery. Surendran and Janu had both refuted the accusations.
The first case against Surendran had been filed on June 7 for allegedly bribing a rival candidate to withdraw his nomination for the Kerala Assembly election.
The rival candidate, Bahujan Samaj Party leader K Sundara, had alleged that BJP leaders offered him Rs 2.5 lakh and a mobile phone not to contest from the Manjeswaram constituency against Surendran.
The Kerala Assembly elections were held in a single phase on April 6 and the results were declared on May 2.
Also read: A robbery, a bribe and a deal: Kerala BJP battles a storm after elections
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