The Returning Officer (RO) of the Palakkad Assembly constituency has officially recorded the statement of Sobha Surendran, the BJP candidate for the seat, following allegations of distributing cash to voters.
Sobha Surendran appeared to give her statement along with a Supreme Court lawyer and categorically denied the allegations. The RO will also record the statements of those who filmed the video footage.
Congress leader CV Balan, who filed the complaint, also recorded his statement before the Returning Officer. The RO is expected to submit a report to the District Collector on Saturday.
On April 8, 2026, just a day before the Kerala Assembly polls, a video surfaced purportedly showing a woman from Sobha Surendran’s campaign team handing over cash to an 85-year-old woman in Theruvakkurishi, in Kannadi panchayat.
However, the elderly woman seen in the video denied receiving money, claiming that the cash in her hand was her pension. The District Collector informed the Chief Electoral Officer that a detailed probe was necessary, given the gravity of the matter.