KOCHI: Ever since his entry into the election fray as the BJP candidate in Palakkad, ‘Metroman’ E Sreedharan has managed to garner eyeballs. His constituency visits are well-attended and photo-ops during the campaigning are never missed.Minor controversies, like the viral photos of voters washing his feet, notwithstanding, the BJP has so far managed to cash in on the 88-year-old’s image and fan following. But whether his charisma will help the party win a few seats in the state is a million dollar question, the answer to which will be known only after the votes are counted on May 2.
While voters, from political analysts to business persons, have different opinion on his candidature, they have one point in common: it’s good to have persons like Sreedharan with proven ability and clean track record in politics.“Sreedharan will get more votes. But it’s doubtful whether the BJP will get huge traction from his candidature in other seats,” said political analyst J Prabhash. “It’s good that a person of the stature of Sreedharan is joining politics. But it’s always better if he works with the people at the grass-root level before taking up the role of an MLA,” he added.
Kerala Chamber of Commerce and Industry Youth Forum convenor Rajesh Nair said Sreedharan’s entry is always welcome as politics needs people like him to take the nation to the next level of development and provide corruption-free governance. “He has proved his worth and professional acumen. We need persons with his kind of immense experience to represent people,” he said.
Inner Wheel Club (Alappuzha) treasurer Sabitha Shibu said politics is in dire need of experts like Sreedharan as people are fed up with corruption and scams. “What we have been seeing about politics is corruption and scams. People are through with corrupt politicians who make money at the cost of the general public. If people like Sreedharan can really bring about a change, it will be a great beginning,” she said.