A social media message attributed to K Surendran, BJP's Kerala State president, and its Lok Sabha candidate in Wayanad, was fake. The message said Surendran backed Kalamandalam Sathyabhama, who invited widespread condemnation over her comments, purportedly against dancer RLV Ramakrishnan.

"Pro-BJP talents are being attacked, K Surendran backs Sathyabhama," the circulated message said.

We spoke to Surendran's office to check the veracity of the message. They said that the BJP leader had not made such a statement. However, he had made a Facebook post on the incident. "There is no differentiation in art based on caste, colour, race, gender, or wealth. Artists are beyond these differentiations. If anyone differentiates artists on these lines, they will remain ignorant irrespective of their achievements. Pride and ignorance should be employed to insult others. With RLV Ramakrishnan," the post read.

For further clarification, we checked the details on the viral screenshot. It mentioned Janam Web Desk and the date March 21. However, such a message was not seen on Janam TV's website or social media pages. Janam TV clarified that it had not aired such a piece of news. It said the screenshot was fake.

The clarification confirmed that the message attributed to Surendran is fake. The BJP leader is taking on Annie Raja of the LDF and Rahul Gandhi in the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency.