THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: While acknowledging that a three cornered fight was playing out in Thiruvananthapuram parliamentary constituency, UDF candidate Shashi Tharoor and LDF's Pannian Raveendran have predicted that the BJP led NDA will again draw a blank in the state in the upcoming Lok Sabha election.
The two leaders were speaking at 'Poll Exchange' interactive progamme organised by The New Indian Express in the run up to the Lok Sabha election at Hotel Dimora here on Monday. NDA candidate Rajeev Chandrasekhar backed out of the programme at the last minute.
"It's true that it's a three cornered fight in Thiruvananthapuram, but the victory won't be theirs (BJP's). I don't think the BJP has relevance anywhere else in the state. The main fight is between the UDF and LDF," Tharoor said in response to a query.
Tharoor, the sitting MP of Thiruvananthapuram took potshots at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's claim that NDA will attain double digit seats in Kerala, "If they attain double digits, then both digits would be zero," he remarked.
Pannian, who had earlier represented Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat categorically dismissed BJP's prospects in the upcoming election. "BJP can never win a seat in Kerala," he asserted, adding that the party has only less than 15% overall vote share.
He said the BJP's rise in vote share in Thiruvananthapuram seat in 2014 and 2019 was due to other factors. While the propaganda that Modi would come to power raised BJP's vote share in the constituency in 2014, the surge in 2019 was owing to the rapport the then candidate Kummanam Rajasekharan enjoyed with voters, he reasoned. He pointed out that BJP had lost two of its stronghold wards in the local body bypolls held recently.
The two leaders also answered questions on a host of issues related to the constituency such as setting up of a High Court bench, infrastructure development, Vizhinjam seaport and livelihood issues of the coastal community.