The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Friday called for a daylong shutdown in Kerala's Chittur area after a party activist was killed while returning from a temple festival.

Suresh was attacked Thursday midnight in Chittur, 15 km from Palakkad town, and succumbed to his injuries Friday morning.

The BJP alleged that activists of the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) were behind the murder. 'It was a pre-planned murder. The incident is connected to a temple festival there,' Sivadas, the Palakkad district president of BJP, told IANS.

Media reports here said the attack on Suresh was the result of skirmishes between the RSS and CPI-M workers during the temple festival a few days ago.