Kasaragod’s district court in Kerala has granted bail to BJP State unit president Kunnummal Surendran in Manjeshwaram election bribery case. Alongside Surendran, the court has also granted bail to five other accused individuals involved in the case.
While providing relief to the BJP state president and the other accused, the court has instructed them to appear in person during the hearing of their discharge pleas.
In response to this development, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief K Sudhakaran has alleged that Surendran was granted bail because the prosecution did not oppose it, citing a perceived “bhai-bhai” relationship between the BJP and CPI(M).
The Kerala police initiated a case against Surendran in June 2021, following allegations of threatening and bribing another candidate to withdraw his nomination for the Manjeswaram Assembly constituency. The case was registered based on the orders of a Magistrate Court, which considered a petition submitted by V V Ramesan, the CPI(M) candidate who had contested against Surendran in Manjeswaram.
The charges in the case were filed under Sections 171 (B) and (E) (Bribery) of the Indian Penal Code and were subsequently handed over to the Crime Branch.
The BSP candidate, Sundara, had claimed that he was initially threatened and then offered Rs 2.5 lakh as a bribe by the BJP to withdraw from the election. He alleged that Sunil Naik, a Yuva Morcha leader and a close associate of Surendran, had delivered the money and a smartphone to him. The BJP, however, had denied these allegations.
Sundara, a Yakshagana artiste, had previously contested the election in 2016 and submitted his nomination once more in 2021 but later withdrew it. Notably, Surendran lost the election from Manjeswaram, with IUML’s A K M Ashraf securing the seat with 65,758 votes, while Surendran managed to garner 65,013 votes. CPI(M)’s Ramesan received 40,639 votes.
