'Congress-led UDF and BJP struck deal during polls in Kerala'

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Former minister K B Ganesh Kumar has alleged that a political understanding existed between UDF and BJP in Pathanapuram during the recent assembly elections, claiming that BJP votes were deliberately transferred to the UDF candidate.

Ganesh Kumar raised the allegation on a Facebook post, citing voting patterns from previous elections to support his claim. He also alleged that the participation of Twenty20 in Pathanapuram was part of the alleged arrangement between UDF and BJP.

According to Ganesh Kumar, similar political ‘deals' were witnessed in the three constituencies won by BJP. He pointed out that in all three seats BJP won, LDF emerged as the runner-up while Congress was pushed to third position. He added that BJP secured victory in those constituencies by narrow margins.

The former minister argued that Congress failed to secure even the level of votes it received in previous parliamentary and local body elections in those constituencies, which, according to him, indicated a coordinated transfer of votes.

Referring specifically to Pathanapuram, Ganesh Kumar said BJP candidate Bheeman Raghu secured 11,700 votes in the 2016 assembly election, while the BJP candidate polled 12,398 votes in the 2021 election. He further claimed that BJP alone received nearly 23,000 votes from the constituency in the 2025 local body elections.

"Despite BJP winning three seats in the state this time, the party secured only 7,031 votes in Pathanapuram. Moreover, the NDA candidate there belonged to Twenty20 party, which has no significant organisational presence in the constituency," Ganesh Kumar alleged.