BJP state chief Surendran discharged by Kerala court from poll bribery case

A Kerala court on Saturday discharged BJP state president K Surendran and five others from the Manjeshwaram election bribery case.

Surendran and the others were discharged by Kasaragod Sessions Judge Sanu S Panicker.

The BJP state chief's lawyer told reporters that the court said that prima facie the case would not stand.

The lawyer also said that the court accepted the defense argument that there was no need to go for trial in the case.

He further said that the defense was able to prove that the case was a fabricated one and that there was a political conspiracy behind it.

The detailed order is not yet available.

Surendran, while talking to media outside the court after the verdict, recalled that he was saying right from the beginning: "truth will prevail".

He added that it was a "well planned conspiracy to implicate him in the false case to destroy his political prospects".

"Leaders of the CPI(M), Congress and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) were behind the conspiracy," he alleged.

He claimed that the aim behind the false case was to weaken the party and shake their confidence, but it was unsuccessful.

The Crime Branch of the Kerala police filed a charge sheet against the BJP state president in the January last year.

Surendran was accused of intimidating his rival candidate to withdraw from the contest for the Manjeshwaram constituency in the 2021 assembly polls.

He was charged under provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act which are non-bailable.

The case was registered as per the directions of a Magistrate Court which considered a petition filed by V V Ramesan, the CPI(M) candidate, who fought the election against Surendran in Manjeswaram.

The case was filed under Sections 171 (B) and (E) (Bribery) of the Indian Penal Code. The case was later handed over to the Crime Branch.

BSP candidate Sundara had alleged that he was initially threatened and later given Rs 2.5 lakh as a bribe by the BJP to withdraw from the contest.

Sundara had claimed that Sunil Naik, a Yuva Morcha leader and a close aide of Surendran, had handed over the money and a smartphone to him.

The BJP had denied the allegations.

Sundara, a Yakshagana artiste, had contested the election in 2016. He had filed his nomination once again in 2021, but had withdrawn.

Surendran, however, lost the election from Manjeswaram in the polls. IUML's A K M Ashraf won the seat with 65,758 votes, while Surendran managed to bag 65,013 votes. CPI(M)'s Ramesan got 40,639 votes.