BJP Kerala State President Exonerated in Poll Bribery Case

 Thiruvananthapuram: A sessions court in the Kasargod district of Kerala on Saturday, acquitted K Surendran, the state president of the BJP, in the Manjeshwaram bribery case.

Surendran and five other accused had filed a discharge petition in September 2023, alleging that the case was politically motivated. The case, which was registered in 2021, was based on a complaint against Surendran and two other BJP leaders.

The allegation involved BJP leaders bribing the BSP candidate with cash and a smartphone to withdraw his nomination from the Manjeshwaram assembly constituency in the 2021 elections. Surendran contested from Manjeshwaram and Konni in the 2021 assembly polls.

The complaint was lodged by the CPM candidate from the Manjeshwaram constituency, V.V. Rameshan, and the police registered a case following an order from the Kasargod First Class Magistrate.