Kasaragod (Kerala): K Sundara, whom the Bahujan Samaj Party had initially fielded as its Assembly candidate for Manjeswaram constituency against BJP state president K Surendran, has made a startling allegation that he withdrew his nomination as the saffron party bribed him.
Sundara said Surendran contacted him over the phone and offered Rs 15 lakh and a smartphone if he withdrew his candidature. Further, he alleged, the BJP promised him a wine parlour in Mangaluru, a coastal city of Karnataka neighbouring Kasaragod, if Surendran won the polls.
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"However, later, some BJP members arrived at my residence and gave me only Rs 2.5 lakh and a smartphone," he said.
Sundara had filed nomination as BSP candidate and later withdrew. A day before the deadline to withdraw nominations, the BSP district leadership had filed a complaint with the police stating Sundara was missing. Later, he appeared at the BJP Manjeswaram election committee office and announced to the media that he was withdrawing his nomination.
Not that Sundara is a prominent candidate. What threatened Surendran was a striking similarity in their names. In the 2016 Assembly elections, Sundara had contested as an independent candidate and garnered 467 votes. On the other hand, Surendran had lost the seat by just 89 votes. Many from the party and outside believe voters mistakenly exercised their franchise on Sundara assuming him to be the BJP leader.
In this year's Assembly polls, results of which were announced last month, Manjeswaram constituency was claimed by the IUML.
Sundara's revelation came after Surendran will be questioned in the Kodakara money laundering case.
