2024-06-07 14:10:05
Suresh Gopi, actor and BJP leader in Kerala. File picture
| Photo Credit: Ramakrishna G.
The BJP is poised to punch through the Congress-CPI(M) Lok Sabha elections campaign narrative that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA would not gain a toehold in Kerala. Actor-turned politician Suresh Gopi in Thrissur has taken a huge lead over his I.N.D.I.A. bloc opponents, trends showed.
Also read | Kerala Election Results 2024 LIVE updates
The trend brings much joy to the BJP’s State leadership, as Mr. Modi’s bid to gain a beachhead in South India, particularly Kerala, seemed on track to bear fruit for the first time in the State’s history.
Gopi, BJP’s celebrity candidate, held a decisive lead of over 73,000 votes in the Thrissur LS constituency over his nearest rival V.S. Sunil Kumar of the CPI.
Mr Gopi, who lost Thrissur to Congress leader T.N. Pratapan in the 2019 LS elections, had been a ubiquitous presence in the LS constituency and an active participant in social, cultural and political events.
Also read: For constituency-wise real-time updates, visit our Election Results page
In contrast, BJP leader and Union Minister of State for External Affairs, V. Muraleedharan, who adopted a similar tactic in the Attingal LS constituency, was trailing in third place.
Pointedly, Mr. Gopi has relegated Congress leader K. Muraleedharan to a distant third position. At the last minute, Congress plucked Mr. Muraleedharan out of his previous seat and political comfort zone in Vadakara and fielded him in Thrissur after his sister K. Padmaja defected to the BJP, threatening to upend the UDF’s chances in its traditional home turf.
However, given Mr. Gopi’s strong surge at the hustings, the Congress’s wager seemed to have a slim chance of paying off.
Chandrasekhar vs Tharoor
Earlier in the day, the BJP seemed to have a credible chance of savouring the joy of victory in Thiruvananthapuram as well, as Union Minister of State for IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, led his closest rival, two-time MP and Congress Working Committee (CWC) member Sashi Tharoor, by over 15,000 votes.
But trends reversed in the capital city as Mr. Tharoor overturned Mr. Chandrasekhar’s lead to take a 15,000-vote himself.
