KOCHI: Declaring that the upcoming assembly elections is a war the NDA is fighting to win, the BJP-led alliance has launched its campaign in the district. Soon after the candidates were announced on Sunday, the NDA Ernakulam Mandalam Convention was inaugurated by BJP state vice-president KS Radhakrishnan.
Contesting from Tripunithura, Radhakrishnan said that Kerala should change the normal practice of electing the UDF and the LDF. "The two fronts have governed the state alternately. The result of their rule was corruption and shame. People need a change. The mindset of BJP workers should also change. Everybody should work with just one motto -- victory," he said.
In the Ernakulam assembly constituency, the BJP has fielded Mahila Morcha state secretary Padmaja S Menon. A journalist with nearly 32 years of experience, Padmaja is also the Union government’s nominee to the Kerala State Social Welfare Board.
"There is a common misconception that in the Ernakulam constituency, there are only people belonging to ne particular community. Both the other fronts are reserving the seat for people belonging to that community alone. We don’t know why. Through Padmaja'a candidature, we are also aiming a change of direction in the constituency," Radhakrishnan added.
The BJP has fielded CG Rajagopal as its candidate from the Kochi constituency. Fondly known as Muthu, Rajagopal has been a prominent presence in Kochi's socio-political realm for the past 24 years. Currently, he is the central zone secretary of BJP. An economics graduate, Muthu had contested in the Kochi Corporation elections (2005), and assembly elections in 2011 and 2019.