Thrissur: In a major blow to Congress ahead of the assembly polls, a party leader has come forward raising serious allegations against TN Prathapan, who is contesting as UDF candidate from Manalur assembly constituency.

PK Firos, vice president of the Nattika Congress Block Committee, claimed that during the last Lok Sabha elections, Prathapan allegedly struck a multi-crore deal with the BJP to ensure the victory of BJP candidate Suresh Gopi.

According to Firos, Pratapan received Rs 8 crore and diverted votes to the BJP, switching support between Congress in the morning and the BJP in the evening.

Firos made the allegations while participating in a press meet organised by the LDF at the Thrissur district committee office of the CPM.

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He said, “The BJP kits are being distributed, and TN Prathapan arrives there immediately and argues with the police. I call upon Congress workers to protest strongly against the BJP. You learned about it yesterday, but we knew about it three days earlier—it was a planned operation. The distribution of kits was carried out in coordination with a senior BJP leader. Here, the Muslim community is 20 per cent, and the Christian community is 20 per cent. These votes form the basis of Prathapan’s support. Congress workers have documents showing Prathapan’s unholy alliance and conspiracy with the BJP to ensure Suresh Gopi’s victory in the last parliamentary election,” Firos alleged.

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He added, “When I say the intervention Prathapan carried out to ensure Suresh Gopi’s win, it wasn’t a minor deal—it involved crores of rupees. I witnessed it myself. Rs 8 crore was collected from Suresh Gopi and the BJP and distributed in Nattika and Manalur by Prathapan.”

Manalur in Thrissur is a key battleground in the current assembly elections. Former minister C. Ravindranath is the LDF candidate, while KK Aneesh Kumar is contesting for the NDA. Firos’ allegations have attracted attention just three days ahead of polling.

Meanwhile, the Congress party has denied that any such deals were made.