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Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 15 (IANS) A BJP worker allegedly committed suicide here on Saturday after being ignored as the party’s candidate in the upcoming Thiruvananthapuram municipal elections.
The deceased was identified as Anand K. Thampi, who was from Thrikannapuram ward of Thiruvananthapuram Corporation.
BJP is said to have earlier declared Thampi as its candidate for the ward, but his name was not in the final list.
Party leaders said the shortlist of candidates had already been prepared and Thampi’s name was “never included” in the official deliberations.
Thampi had then made clear his intention to contest the elections as an independent candidate.
However, his death has created uneasiness in the local BJP unit, as a WhatsApp message allegedly sent by Thampi minutes before his suicide has now surfaced.
In the message addressed to his friends and media houses, Thampi is said to have directly accused BJP leaders of rejecting his candidature despite him being an active grassroots worker. In this, allegations have also been made against some BJP and RSS leaders.
He also demands that no BJP or RSS leader should be allowed to pay his last respects.
After sending the message, he hanged himself at his home, but upon learning of this, his friends, family and police rushed him to a hospital in the state capital in a critical condition. However, after 10 minutes the news came that he breathed his last.
The development is being seen as a blow to the BJP, which was confident of its chances of wresting the prestigious civic body from the Left.
It is currently the principal opposition in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation with 35 members, while the ruling CPI-M-led Left party has 51 seats. The Congress-led UDF has only 10 seats.
–IANS
SG/VD