THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The BJP’s failure to convert its Christian outreach into winnable votes and excessive seat allocation to certain NDA allies in the assembly election reportedly came in for criticism at the party’s core committee meeting held in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday.
At the meeting, a section of leaders said the confrontational stance adopted by veteran leader P C George and his son Shone George against Church heads in the run-up to the poll hurt the party’s prospects. The argument was countered by the top leadership, which cited the BJP’s significant gains in vote share in constituencies such as Tiruvalla.
Criticism also emerged that the BJP, despite having the potential to win at least a dozen seats, undermined its chances due to the absence of a pan-Kerala coordination mechanism. “The allocation of too many seats to alliance partner Twenty20, especially in BJP strongholds, was also raised at the meeting,” a source said.
A section of leaders said the losses in Manjeshwar and Palakkad were primarily due to the candidates not focusing on their constituencies. While Sobha Surendran was fielded in Palakkad after 10 years, K Surendran did not nurture the constituency after his defeat in 2021, it was pointed out. The core committee attributed the wins in Kazhakkoottam and Chathannoor to the persistence of V Muraleedharan and B B Gopakumar in their constituencies despite suffering electoral setbacks.
A former party president reportedly complained about the lackadaisical attitude of the BJP in re-enrolling voters whose names were removed following the SIR process.
“No discussion took place on the selection of the party’s parliamentary party leader,” said a core group member.
The BJP state leadership meeting will be held on Saturday.
