Kerala Assembly polls 2026: Congress demands EC to act over ‘money for votes’ allegations against Palakkad BJP candidate Sobha Surendran

All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary K.C. Venugopal and Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Sunny Joseph on Wednesday (April 8, 2026) demanded the Election Commission of India (EC) to take strict action regarding allegations of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers handing over money to voters in the presence of its Palakkad candidate Sobha Surendran, just a day before the Kerala Assembly polls on Thursday (April 9, 2026). A video of the incident, showing alleged BJP workers slipping a wad of currency notes in the hands of a senior citizen at Kannadi in Palakkad, had gone viral earlier in the day. Ms. Surendran was later seen arguing with those who were filming the video.

“Giving money to influence voters is a very serious violation of election rules. What is the Election Commission doing despite the BJP openly distributing money in Palakkad? The BJP’s money flow can be seen all over Kerala. The party is used to giving money to influence elections. This trend has come to my attention in Alappuzha as well. This is happening regularly in what are called the BJP’s ‘A-class’ constituencies,” said Mr. Venugopal.