BJP woman leader accuses party’s Palakkad candidate of threats, files police complaint

A dispute within the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Kerala escalated on Saturday after former Alappuzha north district vice-president Bindu Vinayakumar filed a police complaint alleging that the party’s Palakkad Assembly candidate Sobha Surendran threatened her over the phone in connection with the ongoing cash-for-vote controversy linked to the recent Assembly polls.

Vinayakumar submitted the complaint to the Alappuzha Superintendent of Police , claiming that Surendran used intimidating and abusive language during a phone call after accusing her of orchestrating the alleged distribution of money to voters in Palakkad.

According to Vinayakumar, the call took place on Friday and Surendran blamed her for being behind a woman who was allegedly caught attempting to give cash to a voter in Kannadi grama panchayat during the election campaign.

An audio clip of the conversation has surfaced in the media, in which Surendran is allegedly heard threatening that she would “ beat and finish the matter ” and warning that Vinayakumar would be dragged to court. The audio also reportedly includes references to a car registered in Alappuzha that was allegedly used by the woman linked to the cash distribution incident.

Vinayakumar said the complaint includes call recordings, WhatsApp call records and other phone details as evidence. She also alleged that Surendran used unparliamentary language and threatened harm to her and her husband , prompting her to approach the police for action.

The BJP leader further stated that she had already raised the issue with BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar and the party’s national president Nitin Nabin , seeking intervention over Surendran’s conduct.

Soon after the controversy became public, the BJP leadership suspended Vinayakumar from the party’s primary membership , citing disciplinary issues and internal complaints against her.

The dispute comes amid a wider political storm in Palakkad, where opposition parties accused BJP workers of offering Rs 5,000 to an elderly voter named Devu to influence her vote. A video of the alleged incident circulated on social media, prompting a police case and an Election Commission inquiry into the allegations .

Surendran has denied the cash-for-vote allegations , calling the video and accusations part of a political conspiracy to damage her campaign.

As of now, Sobha Surendran has not publicly responded to the specific police complaint filed by Vinayakumar, while authorities have forwarded the complaint to the concerned police station for further action .