UDF, LDF working together to oust ruling BJP in Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, says Mayor VV Rajesh

Accusing the United Democratic Front (UDF) and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) of working together to oust the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, Mayor VV Rajesh said he would “resist all attempts to level false allegations against him”.

Addressing a press conference here on Friday, he said the museum police had shown “undue haste” in registering an FIR against him for allegedly forging the signature of BJP councilor R Sugathan in the corporation board’s attendance sheet.

“Indian National Development Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) came into existence in Thiruvananthapuram Corporation earlier than I expected. The LDF Parliamentary Party President filed a complaint of alleged forgery and now a case was quickly registered, though the police officials who visited the corporation for initial evidence collection realized that there was no truth in the allegations,” said Mr. Rajesh.

SP Deepak, who filed the complaint, alleged that the signature was forged to falsely show Mr. Sugathan’s presence at meetings that he actually missed while he was in hiding following a police case.

The forged signatures were allegedly recorded for council meetings held on February 26, March 11 and April 27.

Mr. Rajesh said the photographs from the February 26 council meeting, in which Mr. Sugathan is seen, is proof enough that the allegations are false.

However, he did not produce the said photo at the press conference.

“Mr. Sugathan attended all these council meetings and was not in hiding as claimed by Mr. Deepak. He was absent from only one council meeting before his arrest,” he said.

The mayor said he filed another complaint with the museum police regarding discrepancies in some documents submitted by the opposition demanding an emergency meeting of the council.

Published – 9 Oct 2026 13:53 IST