Thiruvananthapuram, April 8 An Election Commission team visited Palakkad on Wednesday to investigate a complaint that BJP candidate Sobha Surendran allegedly gave money to influence voters ahead of the April 9 Assembly elections, Kerala CEO Rathan U Kelkar said.
The Congress alleged that a woman member of Surendran's campaign team gave money to an elderly woman in the Kannadi panchayat of Palakkad district.
Based on media reports, the district election department immediately dispatched the flying squad to the spot and recorded the statement of the elderly woman, Devu (65), who denied receiving any money, a statement from Kelkar's office said.
Kelkar said the flying squad has submitted its report to the district collector, who noted that a more detailed investigation is required, considering the seriousness of the incident, even though the elderly woman denied receiving any money.
He added that the detailed probe will also examine whether there has been a violation of the Model Code of Conduct or the Representation of the People Act.
Further action will be taken after examining the report, a copy of which has been shared with election observers and the police, the CEO said.
Surendran denied the allegations, claiming she did not distribute money to voters and accusing the Congress and a TV channel journalist of "fabricating" the video broadcast on television.