Thrissur: The party, which has not been able to win even a single Lok Sabha seat in Kerala so far, is making every effort to open its account in the next elections. National leaders and ministers of the party are trying to promote the Centre’s welfare schemes to woo the state. BJP’s vote share has increased from 11.15% in 2014 to 28.2% in 2019, which has boosted the morale of the workers.
The Mahila Morcha program is a clear indication that Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency is on top of the BJP’s agenda in Kerala. The party, which has not been able to win a single Lok Sabha seat in Kerala so far and has managed to secure only one assembly seat so far, is making every possible effort to open its account in the next general elections. In recent months, several national leaders of the party and Union ministers have attended events in the state to promote the welfare schemes of the central government.
Also during his speech at the ‘Stree Shakti Modikkoppam (Women Power with Modi) Mahila Sangam’, PM Narendra Modi highlighted the schemes implemented by his government. Though he did not name Suresh Gopi, actor-turned-politician Gopi was among the three leaders who accompanied the PM in his open vehicle during the kilometre-long road show.
Prominent female face of the party, Shobha Surendran, praised Suresh Gopi and said that the people of Thrissur like him. “If you choose Suresh Gopi, he will return from Delhi. I can assure you that he will work for the progress of Thrissur without considering caste and community differences,” she said at the function.
BJP state president K Surendran said that Modi’s visit was also to bless Suresh Gopi. When Suresh Gopi waved towards him, the large crowd clapped. Although many expected an official announcement of his candidacy, this did not happen.
Suresh Gopi has openly expressed his intention to contest the upcoming general elections from Thrissur and is focusing on the issues of the constituency, where the BJP hopes to bring together the Hindu and Christian vote banks. Party workers put up posters with his photo before the rally.
Recently, Suresh Gopi organized a protest march in Thrissur against the alleged corruption of the state government in general and the scam in the CPM-controlled Karuvannur Service Cooperative Bank in particular.
Since 1998, Thrissur has been dominated by the LDF and the Congress, although neither has won consecutive elections here. In 2019 too, the BJP had identified it as a priority constituency. Before that election, Modi had addressed a rally in Thrissur as part of the state conference of the Yuva Morcha.
