Female voice: “She said she had taken some money from some people when we were with the CPM. So they might create problems if she comes (to the NDA) without returning that money. That’s why she (now) wants Rs 10 lakh.

“I have no role in this. If that can be given, she will be present at Amit Shah’s programme on the seventh…. So you can give the cash directly to her….”

Male voice: “We can give it when she comes in person on the seventh.”

Female voice: “She said it would be better if you could give it before that.”

Male voice: “Let her come on the sixth, I shall give it. A money deal during election time — it’s not possible to carry it out.”

If Union home minister and BJP leader Amit Shah does not order a probe into the content of the leaked phone conversation in which his name is mentioned and clear the air immediately, it will gift his opponents a chance to claim that this is the “toolkit” fine-tuned by his party to whip up favourable optics ahead of elections in states.

Consider the information and versions available so far:

○ Praseetha Azhikode, treasurer of the Janadhipathya Rashtriya Party (JRP) in Kerala, has acknowledged that the female voice in the leaked audio conversation in Malayalam is hers.

○ Praseetha said on Wednesday she was referring to C.K. Janu, one of the most popular Adivasi rights leaders in Kerala before she became an ideology-agnostic player adept at choosing fair-weather political friends. On Wednesday, Janu, who has been suspended from the JRP that she had founded, denied any payoff and contested Praseetha’s claims.

○ Praseetha said the person she was speaking to over the phone was K. Surendran, president of the Kerala BJP. Usually never at a loss for words, Surendran had neither denied nor confirmed Praseetha’s charge till 10pm on Wednesday, by when several hours had passed since the audiotape hit the air waves. The state unit of the BJP is apparently ordering an “internal” probe.

○ On March 7 (presumably the “seventh” in the phone conversation), Union home minister Shah visited the Kerala capital to address the valedictory function of Surendran’s Vijay Yatra, an event organised in the run-up to the Assembly elections that took place almost a month later. Janu was present on the dais and Surendran, the state BJP chief, introduced her, a BJP video of the event shows.

Such pre-poll yatras are a familiar fixture in Kerala, intended at galvanising the rank and file and showcasing recent converts.

The issue goes far beyond Kerala because the BJP had been relying on a tactic of parading a galaxy of turncoats in most states, including Bengal, to create an impression, especially among parachute journalists, that the party enjoys a groundswell of support.

In Bengal, the BJP had adopted such a “parade-and-pulverise” plan that gave some traction in the national media for Shah’s 200-plus boast although the party ended up as a distant runner-up in the eastern state.

A longer version of the purported conversation (translated version reproduced at the end of this report) between Praseetha and Surendran suggests the initial amount demanded was Rs 10 crore, which was subsequently lowered to Rs 10 lakh and other benefits, for Janu to return to the NDA and share the platform with Shah.

Formed in 2016, the JRP had in 2019 dumped the NDA for the Left Democratic Front but returned to the BJP fold ahead of the April 6 Assembly polls this year. The BJP drew a blank in the latest state elections.

The payoff controversy could not have come at a worse time for the demoralised BJP that is already battling charges and bitter internal feuding in a money-laundering case in Kerala.

On Wednesday, as Surendran remained silent, BJP veteran P.P. Mukundan said the “guilty must be punished”.

“The party will conduct an internal investigation. Talks are on with the leaders concerned,” Mukundan told a TV channel in the evening.

JRP treasurer Praseetha’s remarks came on Wednesday after the audio clip was leaked, reportedly by a faction in her party.

Praseetha told reporters that the phone conversation had taken place ahead of the JRP’s return to the NDA on March 7 and that the money transaction took place at a hotel in Thiruvananthapuram.

“She (Janu) demanded that money (Rs 10 crore). But Surendran was not ready to accept it (the demand). She then softened her stand by seeking some money in exchange for supporting the BJP,” Praseetha said.

In the audio clip, the female voice seems to make a pitch for some money for herself: “Then I need to say something about myself. I have been running around for this for so many days. I don’t have any money left.”

On Wednesday, Praseetha told a TV channel she did not ask for anything for herself but for the party.

Janu had contested as an NDA candidate from Sulthan Bathery in Wayanad, losing to her Congress rival. The JRP last week suspended her from the party for six months for allegedly trading votes. The NDA had polled about 15,000 fewer votes in Sulthan Bathery compared with its 2016 tally.

Janu denied the payoff charge. “I wouldn’t need an intermediary like Praseetha if I really wanted to have a monetary deal with Surendran,” she told a TV channel on Tuesday.

“I have good relations with everyone in Kerala; I even have connections with Union minister Amit Shah. Why should I go through an intermediary when I have such connections?”

The audio clip

The audio begins with a female voice saying: “We know that you can’t agree to the Rs 10 crore she had asked for.”

Male voice: “So what is she saying now?”

Female voice: “She said she had taken some money from some people when we were with the CPM. So they might create problems if she comes (to the NDA) without returning that money. That’s why she (now) wants Rs 10 lakh.

“I have no role in this. If that can be given, she will be present at Amit Shah’s programme on the seventh (understood to be March 7). That apart she wants the (Sultan) Bathery seat for herself. We don’t need any other seats. Then the post (not clear what post) you spoke about… after the election. So you can give the cash directly to her.

“Then I need to say something about myself. I have been running around for this for so many days. I don’t have any money left.”

Male voice: “Speak on, speak on, don’t waste time.”

Female voice: “So you should give us some more money because this is for party work, not for personal use.”

Male voice: “Understood. How and where?”

Female voice: “Sirji, you can say where we should come.”

Male voice: “We can give it when she comes in person on the seventh.”

Female voice: “She said it would be better if you could give it before that.”

Male voice: “Let her come on the sixth, I shall give it. A money deal during election time — it’s not possible to carry it out.”

(This seems an allusion to the stringent checks on carrying cash during election time.)

The female voice says she plans to call a news conference on the sixth, presumably to announce the shift to the NDA.

Male voice: “Come on the sixth morning, I shall give the money. You can come to Thiruvananthapuram on the sixth and can stay there for a day. We will all be in Thiruvananthapuram on the sixth.”