The returning officer of the Nemom constituency in Kerala on Tuesday accepted the nomination papers of BJP’s state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar for the April 9 assembly elections, rejecting objections from Congress candidate K S Sabarinathan over suppression of material information related to his ownership of a bungalow in Bengaluru.
The nomination was initially put on hold following the complaints filed by Congress candidate Sabarinathan before being accepted after 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 Rs 200 crore based on prevailing land rates of Rs 35,000 to Rs 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 Sabarinathan said that 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 allegedly 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 in a Facebook post said his party will pursue legal action against the decision to accept the nomination of Rajeev Chandrasekhar, including an election petition, as this 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 Opposition and senior Congress leader VD 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 alleged undervaluation of gold assets, unpaid fines on his official vehicle, and alleged undisclosed income sources
However, the Returning officer of the constituency 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 VD Satheesan was not disclosed, the details of the fines paid for the official vehicle used were not disclosed, and the value of the gold in his possession was not disclosed in the nomination papers.