The Returning Officer of the Nemom constituency on Tuesday accepted the nomination papers of BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar for the April 9 Kerala Assembly polls, rejecting objections from Congress candidate KS Sabarinathan over the alleged suppression of material information related to his ownership of a bungalow in Bengaluru.
The nomination was initially put on hold following complaints filed by Sabarinathan but was later accepted during scrutiny.
The Congress, in its complaint, alleged that Chandrasekhar failed to disclose details of a 49,000 sq ft mansion located in Koramangala, Bengaluru.
The property, spread across around one and a half acres in one of the country’s most expensive localities, is estimated to be worth nearly ₹200 crore, based on prevailing land rates of ₹35,000 to ₹50,000 per sq ft, the party claimed.
It also said that property tax for the land was paid on March 17 and shared a link on social media platform X, stating that the details could be verified by the public.
Responding to the Returning Officer’s decision to accept the nomination, UDF’s Congress candidate and complainant KS Sabarinathan said the Returning Officer, being a quasi-judicial authority, does not have the mandate to act on such matters. He added that the issue would be pursued through legal channels.
The Congress has further alleged that the same property had been declared in Chandrasekhar’s 2024 affidavit, and its omission this time amounts to an attempt to mislead the Election Commission. The party has demanded a probe and appropriate action.
In this connection, LDF’s CPM candidate in Nemom, V. Sivankutty, said in a Facebook post that his party would pursue legal action against the decision to accept Chandrasekhar’s nomination, including filing an election petition, as the alleged act is punishable under the Representation of the People Act.
“The alleged concealment of assets worth crores by the BJP’s Nemom candidate is a serious betrayal of voters. Despite tax records confirming ownership of a luxury Bengaluru residence, it was omitted from the affidavit, pointing to a deliberate attempt to mislead. The same property was declared in the previous Lok Sabha election, making this omission suspicious and unlawful,” Sivankutty said in the Facebook post.
Meanwhile, the Returning Officer of the Paravur Assembly constituency on Tuesday accepted the nomination papers of Leader of the Opposition and senior Congress leader V.D. Satheesan for the 2026 Kerala Assembly elections. The scrutiny of his nomination was temporarily put on hold following complaints filed by LDF and NDA representatives regarding the alleged undervaluation of gold assets, unpaid fines on his official vehicle, and alleged undisclosed sources of income.
However, the Returning Officer rejected the objections raised by the LDF and NDA and accepted Satheesan’s nomination after verifying his written explanations and supporting documents.
The complaints were made on the grounds that the real source of income of V.D. Satheesan was not disclosed, details of fines paid for his official vehicle were omitted, and the value of the gold in his possession was not properly declared in the nomination papers.