KOCHI: The BJP, though shocked with the results at the national level, is happy with its performance in Kerala. The victory of Suresh Gopi from Thrissur has not only helped the party break the Kerala jinx, but also send the message that it is a force to be reckoned with in the state.
Though Union ministers V Muraleedharan and Rajeev Chandrasekhar lost by wafer-thin margins, the party bettered its position in the state by improving its vote share by 3.5%. Senior party leaders opined that the party BJP should have won in Thiruvananthapuram and Attingal with better coordination at the grassroots.
The biggest surprise, however, was seen in Alappuzha and Alathur seats.
Repeating her record of doubling the party’s vote share in every election she contests, Sobha Surendran, who entered the fight in Alappuzha at the last moment, upped BJP’s vote share by 11.08%. By securing 2,99,648 votes, against 1,87,729 votes polled by the party in 2019, Sobha has added one more constituency to the list of BJP’s A+ seats.
Also, in 2019, Sobha improved BJP’s vote share in Attingal from 90,528 to 2,48,081, inspiring the leadership to concentrate more in the constituency. Sobha’s contribution, in fact, laid the foundation for V Muraleedharan’s spirited performance in Attingal this time.
Meanwhile, in Alathur, BJP’s T N Sarasu improved the party’s vote share from 89,803 in 2019 to 1,88,230, adding 10.18% more votes.
Actor Suresh Gopi, who demolished Congress’ fortress Thrissur, secured 1,18,516 more votes than his 2019 tally. Besides Gopi’s image as a philanthropist, BJP’s strategy of wooing Christians, while ensuring the support of the Hindu community, helped it win Thrissur.
In Wayanad, BJP state president K Surendran, who was pitted against incumbent MP Rahul Gandhi, too increased the party’s vote share by 62,229 votes. The BJP improved its performance in Kannur, Palakkad, and Kollam.
However, the sharp decline in votes in Pathanamthitta and Chalakudy will be a major concern for the party. The BJP fielded Congress veteran A K Antony’s son Anil K Antony in Pathanamthitta, hoping to tap into the Christian vote share. However, Anil could not repeat K Surendran’s performance and the party’s vote share dropped by 63,298 votes.
BJP’s Christian outreach programme too did not yield the desired result in Pathanamthitta and Kottayam.
In Attingal, V Muraleedharan, who came third, gave a tough time to LDF and UDF, and managed to raise BJP’s vote share from 2,48,081 in 2019 to 3,11,779. In Thiruvananthapuram, Rajeev lost by mere 16,077 votes, but added 25,976 more votes to BJP’s kitty, while Tharoor lost 57,976 votes compared to 2014. “I am happy with BJP’s performance in Kerala. We lost Thiruvananthapuram and Attingal by a thin margin. We secured support from all sections of voters and our vote share went up by 8% in Attingal. I will continue to concentrate in Attingal and be at the service of the people,” said Muraleedharan.
Surendran said the party improved its position across Kerala. “Some factors did not work in our favour in Pathanamthitta and Kottayam. We will study the results and take necessary steps,” he said.
