Now, party ticket for cash scam hits BJP in TN, victim names Union Minister Kishan Reddy

Chennai police are probing a case of alleged cheating by members of BJP in the name of alotting ticket to contest in the recently held assembly election in Tamil Nadu.

Pondy Bazaar police have registered a case against four persons including a man who claimed to be the assistant of BJP minister G Kishan Reddy based on a complaint from a party man from Arani who had handed over Rs.50 lakh to him on March 12 hoping to get to BJP ticket.

Kishan Reddy was appointed as election in-charge of BJP in Tamil Nadu in the first week of February this year by the party.

Kishan Reddy was minister of state for home then and his portfolio was changed to Minister of Development of North Eastern Region of India in the recent shuffle.

Police has registered the case against Narothaman, said to be the then assistant of Kishan Reddy, Narothaman's father Chitti Babu, from Hyderabad along with Vijayaraman and his son Siva Balaji from Perambur, Chennai.

The complainant Bhuvanesh Kumar, BJP Arani town president, claimed in his complaint that Vijayaraman had introduced him to the minister's PA, and Rs. one crore was demanded for the party ticket. Bhuvnesh Kumar wanted to contest from Arani.

He paid Rs.50 lakh in cash as advance for the ticket and the payment was done at a hotel in T Nagar on March 12 this year before the BJP candidates' list was announced. He was supposed to pay the rest of the amount after his candidature was announced.

But his name was not there when the official list of candidates was released. When Bhuvnesh Kumar contacted Narothaman, he was told he or his sister (who is also a BJP functionary) could contest from Tiruvannamalai. But their names never appeared in the list officially released by the party.

After that Bhuvnesh Kumar wanted to get the money back and kept on asking for it. But never got an answer. So hr lodged a complaint at Pondy Bazaar police station based on which an FIR has been registered.