BJP candidate in Palakkad Sobha Surendran on Friday gave her statement to the Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO), in connection with the allegations of distribution of cash to influence voter.
Sobha Surendran contested from the Palakkad constituency as a BJP candidate in the Assembly elections held on Thursday. The outcome for all 140 seats will be announced on May 4.
The issue surfaced after a video, said to have been filmed by Congress workers and broadcast on television, showed a woman handing something to an elderly woman. Moments later, others intervened and opened her palm, revealing a small bundle of Rs 500 notes on April 8.
The visuals also showed Surendran getting out of her car and arguing with a few men who had filmed the incident, questioning how they could have recorded her without her permission.
The Congress lodged a complaint with the Election Commission alleging that Surendran was involved in distributing cash to voters.
Surendran, in turn, filed a complaint with the Commission, alleging that the incident was part of a "conspiracy" against her.
According to officials, following the complaint, the Palakkad District Collector directed the District Returning Officer to conduct an inquiry and submit a report.
As part of the inquiry, Surendran appeared before the officer, and her statement was recorded this afternoon.
The District Returning Officer is expected to submit a report to the collector soon, which will then be forwarded to Kerala Chief Electoral Officer Rathan U Kelkar.
Police have also registered a case in connection with the incident and initiated an investigation.
(With inputs from PTI, Express News Service)