Thrissur : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has finally secured a victory in Kerala as its candidate, Malayalam star Suresh Gopi, won the Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency. This marks the BJP’s first seat in the southern state, where it has been striving to establish a foothold.
With backing from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the party managed to increase its vote share by more than two percent, effectively dismantling the “no entry” perception previously associated with the BJP in Kerala. The triumph in Thrissur, achieved with a margin of 74,686 votes, is particularly noteworthy given that all seven assembly segments within the constituency are held by the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF).
The BJP’s strategic efforts to capture the Thrissur seat from the Congress paid off, aided by multiple visits from Prime Minister Modi, who conducted public meetings, roadshows, and even attended Suresh Gopi’s daughter’s wedding at the renowned Guruvayur temple earlier this year.
The party also gained momentum when K Padmaja, daughter of the late Congress stalwart and former Chief Minister K Karunakaran, joined the BJP just before the polls. In response, the Congress replaced the incumbent MP of Thrissur, T N Prathapan, with K Muraleedharan, Karunakaran’s son and representative of Vadakara in the Lok Sabha. However, this move did not yield the desired outcome for the Congress, with Muraleedharan finishing in third place.
Political analysts suggest that the BJP’s outreach to the Christian community might have helped garner support from a segment of the population. Additionally, the police’s heavy-handed approach during the Thrissur Pooram festival, the largest in the region, adversely affected the prospects of both the LDF and the UDF.
Suresh Gopi, the BJP candidate, saw a significant increase in his vote share, rising from 2.90 lakh in 2019 to over 4 lakh this time. Meanwhile, the Communist Party of India’s V S Sunil Kumar received 3.34 lakh votes, and the Congress’ vote share decreased from 4.15 lakh to 3.24 lakh.