Kerala polls: Rajeev Chandrasekhar’s nomination cleared, hits back at Congress

Thiruvananthapuram, March 24 (IANS) The acceptance of BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar’s nomination papers on Tuesday has effectively put to rest speculation surrounding allegations raised by Congress over discrepancies in his election affidavit, providing a significant boost to the party ahead of the polls.

With the scrutiny process concluding without objections, election authorities have cleared Chandrasekhar’s candidature, signalling that the allegations raised did not warrant disqualification.

The development comes days after the Congress escalated its attack, accusing him of concealing ownership of a high-value residential property in Bengaluru.

Reacting sharply, Chandrasekhar challenged the Congress to pursue legal action if it had substantive evidence.

He accused the party of resorting to falsehoods to gain electoral mileage and questioned its credibility.

In a pointed remark, he said the Congress party was attempting to mislead voters again.

The BJP leader also took aim at Kerala Minister V. Sivankutty, one of his principal opponents at the Nemom constituency, who has been vocal in his criticism, suggesting that the repeated allegations reflected a lack of political balance.

The Congress complaint, filed before the Election Commission of India, alleged that Chandrasekhar failed to disclose a Bengaluru property purportedly worth Rs 200 crore, while declaring in his affidavit that he did not own a house.

The party had sought his disqualification, backing its claims with documents including tax payment receipts.

However, with the nomination now formally accepted, the immediate legal and electoral implications appear to have weakened.

Political observers note that while the controversy may continue to be a talking point in the campaign, the administrative clearance strengthens the BJP’s position and shifts the contest back to core electoral issues in the run-up to polling.

Congress raised this issue on its social media account by posting the tax receipt for the building that the state BJP chief allegedly owns.

Incidentally, Chandrasekhar and his supporters are upbeat as in the May 2024 Lok Sabha polls, even though he lost to sitting member Shashi Tharoor, he managed to get the upper hand at the Nemom Assembly constituency.

--IANS

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