THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The BJP is looking for new faces ahead of the 2024 general election. The national leadership has urged the state unit not to rely on leaders who were regular on candidates’ lists, and to instead rope in persons with quality and calibre for each constituency.
With less than a year left for the LS election, the state BJP has been entrusted with the task of making lateral entries -- in an attempt to find the right candidates. Taking into consideration the state’s peculiar political structure, it has been asked to identify celebrities in various fields.
Apart from Suresh Gopi, Jacob Thomas and T P Senkumar, BJP has to look for new faces. Although the party had experimented with a few film stars and celebrities, including S Sreesanth, it did not go as planned. In the last assembly election, BJP gave a ticket to E Sreedharan. However, the national leadership’s age bar could hinder his chances.
BJP state president K Surendran has already ruled himself out of contention, to focus on campaign management. “His declaration has to be seen as a warning to many leaders who somehow find their way onto candidates’ lists for each assembly and parliament election,” a senior state office-bearer told TNIE.
“There have been past allegations of misappropriation of election funds. The national leadership wants new faces with credibility. It has also asked the state unit to complete preparatory work for the 2024 election,” he said. Interestingly, the leadership’s plans have stirred activity from interested parties. Central minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar has stepped up his trips to Thiruvananthapuram and is attending more programmes and visiting dignitaries. Although he has the backing of the state RSS, the BJP unit is yet to evince interest.
The BJP will seek to ‘neutralise’ Senkumar, who has differences of opinion over the party’s stand on former ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan. State vice president Sobha Surendran’s recent uttering also seem to be aimed at 2024.
The state leadership is likely to be revamped after the Parliament election. And it will be keen to be seen as putting in the effort, with the national leadership having already relayed th message that every seat in south India will be crucial for the party to return to power at the Centre.