KOCHI: Signalling BJP’s resolve to overturn its history of electoral reverses in Kerala, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to hold a second roadshow in the state within a fortnight of the mega event in Thrissur in which he captivated thousands who thronged the venue with his oratorical mastery.
Modi’s two-day visit will see him taking out a roadshow in Kochi on January 16 and attending the marriage of actor Suresh Gopi’s daughter at Guruvayur the next day. The PM is also scheduled to address BJP’s Shakti Kendra in-charges at Marine Drive, Kochi, on the second day of his visit.
The roadshow will commence from Maharaja’s College Ground at 6 pm and wind up in front of the Ernakulam Guest House, passing through Hospital Road. Around 50,000 party workers will participate in the roadshow, BJP Ernakulam district president K S Shaiju said. “Nearly 7,000 Shakti Kendra in-charges will attend the meeting to be held at 11 am the next day,” he said.
Buoyed by the success of Modi’s spectacular show in Thrissur on January 3, and the positive response to the party’s Christian outreach programme, the BJP is optimistic about bettering its performance in the coming Lok Sabha elections in the state. Modi attending the marriage of Suresh Gopi’s daughter is, in fact, a calculated political move. The actor will be the BJP candidate in Thrissur where he lost in 2019, finishing third despite putting up a valiant fight.
BJP’s vote share went up from 11.5% in 2014 to 28.2% in 2019. With the prime minister attending the wedding, the event is sure to be transformed into a campaign platform of the actor for the coming election. The whole idea is to bank on Modi and boost the chances of Gopi. In his speech at the Thrissur rally, Modi listed various development and welfare schemes initiated by his government.
Wooing the state