- Sobha Surendran is BJP's candidate from Palakkad, a Congress stronghold since 2011
- She faced a cash-for-vote controversy before Kerala Assembly elections on April 9
- Congress accused BJP of distributing cash in Palakkad's Tharuvakurissi and Kannadi panchayats
The BJP has fielded Sobha Surendran from the Palakkad constituency, considered a Congress stronghold since 2011. Voting for all 140 Assembly constituencies in Kerala was held on April 9.
A day ahead of polling, Surendran was caught in a cash-for-vote controversy. Congress workers have accused the BJP of trying to influence voters by distributing money in Tharuvakurissi and Kannadi panchayats in Palakkad.
In one of the clips, a woman is seen getting out of Surendran's car and allegedly handing cash to an elderly woman at a house nearby. In another video, Surendran is seen arguing with people who were trying to record the incident.
Congress leaders have also claimed that Prameela Sasidharan, a former chairperson of the Palakkad municipality, was also involved in alleged cash distribution.
Who is Sobha Surendran?
Born in 1974 in Kerala's Thrissur district, Surendran began her political journey at the age of 13. She was associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and later became a full-time BJP worker in the early 1990s when the party was not very strong in Kerala.
Over the past 30 years, she has held multiple important positions in BJP. She began at the district and youth level, serving as a vice president in the BJP's youth wing (Yuva Morcha). She later moved up to state-level roles, including positions in the Mahila Morcha (women's wing), where she eventually became the State President from 2010 to 2016.
During her tenure, she helped set up women units in all 140 Assembly constituencies and led campaigns focused on issues at the grassroots level.
She has also served as BJP state secretary and state general secretary and was a member of the party's National Executive between 2015 and 2021. Currently, she is a state vice president, a member of the BJP's core committee in Kerala.
Surendran has contested many elections over the years, and her performance has improved. Her best result came in the 2016 Assembly elections from Palakkad, where she finished second. She has also helped increase the BJP's vote share in several constituencies across the state. In the 2021 Assembly elections, she contested from Kazhakkoottam but lost to the CPI(M) candidate.
She is married to KK Surendran, a BJP politician from Malappuram. The couple has two children.
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