Cash-for-votes row hits Beypore; complaints filed against Congress workers

Kozhikode: After Palakkad, the Beypore assembly constituency is also witnessing a cash-for-votes controversy, with a complaint being lodged with the police against Congress workers on Wednesday.

Local resident Swaminathan of Kottekkattu filed the complaint with Maradu police against two individuals, including Congress mandalam president Rajeevan Thiruvachira. Police have accepted the complaint and submitted a report seeking court permission to register a case.

Swaminathan, a voter in the second booth of Marad, alleged that Rajeevan Thiruvachira and another person from Nilambur visited his shop on Wednesday morning and pressured him to accept cash. He claimed they asked him to vote for the UDF candidate and not to act as a booth agent for the LDF, and attempted to hand him ₹2,000. When he refused, the money was reportedly left in his shop.

Following the allegations, officials from the Election Commission and the flying squad visited the area to collect evidence.

Demanding strict action, the LDF constituency election committee submitted complaints to the Election Commission, the Returning Officer, and the District Collector. Committee secretary T. Radhagopi alleged that the UDF candidate was deploying outsiders to influence voters with cash and attempting large-scale bogus voting, urging authorities to take stringent measures.