Denied poll ticket, RSS worker ends life; alleges BJP-RSS leaders harassed him

Anand, who circulated his suicide note to friends via WhatsApp shortly before the incident, was found hanging at his residence around 5.20 pm.

In the note, he levelled serious allegations against senior BJP and RSS leaders in the area, accusing them of being part of a “soil mafia”.

He named the current BJP candidate for the Thrikkannapuram ward Vinod Kumar, area secretary Udayakumar, constituency committee member Krishnakumar, and Nagar Karyavahak Rajesh in the note.

Anand said he had wanted to contest from the Thrikkannapuram ward as a BJP candidate but was denied a ticket, prompting him to announce that he would run as an independent.

He wrote that this decision triggered sustained mental harassment from BJP and RSS leaders, which he said pushed him beyond his emotional limits, The Indian Express reported.

He further wrote that no member of the BJP or RSS should be allowed to see his body, adding that “the biggest mistake of my life is that I lived as an RSS worker” and that the identity he carried as an RSS member had driven him to “the state to commit suicide.”

Anand’s death adds to a troubling string of similar incidents involving BJP and RSS workers in the district.

On September 20, Anilkumar K, the ward councillor of Thirumala, died by suicide. Shortly afterwards, another RSS worker, Ananthu Aji, also took his own life.

In scheduled posts on Instagram, he shared a suicide note and video alleging he had been subjected to sexual assault during RSS camps.

Police have begun an investigation into Anand’s allegations and the political tensions surrounding his death, even as the BJP leadership has come under renewed scrutiny over internal disputes and the wellbeing of its cadres.