Ernakulam (Keralam) [India], April 8 (ANI): Ahead of the Kerala Assembly elections scheduled for Thursday, Congress leader VD Satheesan on Monday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of engaging in systematic vote-buying and distributing gifts to influence voters.

Speaking to the media, Satheesan said, 'We have released a video, in the visuals it is very clear that BJP workers are giving money to an old lady for votes, in the presence of the BJP candidate. They have been doing this in many constituencies, where they have been giving money and sarees to the women. This is happening for the first time in Keralam. BJP is introducing a system to manipulate voters.'

He also criticised the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM) for allegedly publishing material against Congress candidates. 'At the same time, the CPM is also engaging in malpractices. Just the other day, they published materials without any authority. In the Adoor assembly constituency, they distributed a leaflet against our candidate, falsely claiming he is an accused in a murder case.'

Tackling this, he said, 'We have filed complaints with the concerned authorities, including the police and the Chief Electoral Officer. The Collector has also visited the site. It is a clear-cut case. In my own constituency as well, they are issuing false statements without even mentioning the publisher's name. They are pushing these materials on the eve of the election, which they are not authorised to do under the Election Commission guidelines. Yet, both the CPM and BJP continue to violate the directions of the Chief Electoral Officer and the Election Commission, both offline and online.'

'We will fight this legally. If the government or the concerned authorities fail to take action, we will definitely pursue a legal battle,' he assured, taking a stance on the voter manipulation system.

The Congress leader further raised concerns over the voting process for election officials. 'As there is no facility of postal ballot now, the officials on election duty are required to visit the facilitation centres to cast their votes,' he said.

Highlighting the errors of the EC, he added, 'Unfortunately, the election officials went to the facilitation centres, but there was no ballot. We have requested EC to establish facilitation centres in every district. It is a serious fault of the Election Commission.'

Satheesan's statements come amid heightened political tensions in Kerala, with both national and state parties intensifying campaigning and monitoring the conduct of rival parties ahead of the Assembly polls.

The polling for the 2026 Keralam Legislative Assembly elections will be held in a single phase on April 9, with the counting of votes scheduled to take place on May 4. The tenure of the current assembly is scheduled to end on May 23.

The CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front will look to defend its power against the Congress-led United Democratic Front. With a historic win in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation polls, the BJP is also looking to make inroads in the state and open their account. (ANI)