Congress Leader Accuses Senior Congress Leader Prathapan of Making Deals With BJP, Claims Votes Were Diverted to Elect Suresh Gopi from Thrissur

Thrissur: A Congress leader from Thrissur has levelled explosive allegations against senior Congress leader T N Prathapan, the UDF candidate for the Manalur constituency, accusing him of having struck a secret electoral arrangement with the BJP. V A Firoz, vice president of the Nattika Congress constituency unit, made the allegations at a press conference, claiming that Prathapan diverted votes to ensure the victory of BJP candidate Suresh Gopi in the Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency during last year's general election, receiving Rs 8 crore for votes from the Nattika and Kaipamangalam segments alone. Firoz claimed to possess documentary evidence of the transaction.

Firoz further alleged that a mutual support arrangement exists between Prathapan and BJP candidate B Gopalakrishan in Guruvayur — whereby the BJP would help the UDF in Manalur in exchange for reciprocal support in Guruvayur during the assembly elections. He described Prathapan as someone whose political loyalties cannot be trusted, saying he is with Congress in the morning and with the BJP by evening.

The Vadanappally kit distribution controversy, which made headlines recently, was also cited by Firoz as evidence of collusion between Prathapan and the BJP. He claimed the incident had been planned in advance with a senior BJP leader, and that Pratapan's subsequent appearance to ostensibly stop the distribution — and the tensions that followed — were all orchestrated to consolidate minority votes. Firoz also alleged that Prathapan maintains benami financial dealings.

There were previous allegations that Congress helped BJP win in Thrissur during teh last general elections. While the LDF's vote tally in Thrissur increased by 16,196 votes compared to 2019, the UDF lost 86,965 votes — a loss that tracked almost precisely with Suresh Gopi's winning margin. The numbers had already fuelled strong suspicions of a Congress-BJP understanding in Thrissur, and Firoz's disclosures have now given those suspicions a sharper edge. It may be recalled that the UDF had set aside sitting MP T N Prathapan and fielded K Muraleedharan in Thrissur for the 2024 Lok Sabha election, a decision that itself had raised eyebrows within the party.