Thiruvananthapuram: Amid the controversy over the death of Anand K Thampi, who died by suicide allegedly after the BJP denied him a seat in the local body polls, the party leadership has declared that the deceased was not a member of the party. Addressing the media in Thiruvananthapuram, BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar said Anand had joined the Uddhav Thackeray–led Shiv Sena.

Party general secretary Adv. Suresh told the media that Anand was not considered a probable candidate for the polls as he was not an activist of the party.

“It’s very sad to hear about Anand’s suicide. He never worked as a BJP activist, so he was not included in the list of candidates. He was never associated with our party. He is a member of the Shiv Sena under Uddhav Thackeray. We have confirmed that he took membership in Shiv Sena. But our opponents are using his suicide as a weapon against us,” Suresh said.

Anand K Thampi, a native of Jai Nagar, Thirumala died by suicide on Saturday. BJP came under fire after Anand's suicide note revealed that he took the extreme step after the party denied him a seat in the local body polls.