With lotus blooming in Kerala following the victory of actor Suresh Gopi from the Thrissur Parliamentary constituency, Kerala’s electorate seems to have warmed up to the saffron party in the way it is making inroads into the electoral bastions of the Congress-led UDF and CPI(M) led LDF.

The BJP is assured of winning at least one seat in Kerala despite a tough fight in Thiruvananthapuram, where the party fielded Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar against the incumbent Shashi Tharoor.

It may be recalled that BJP had always drawn a blank in the previous elections, both for assembly and parliament. The victory of Suresh Gopi dealt a heavy blow to the hopes of the Congress and CPI (M) to prevent BJP from opening its account in the State.

A jubilant Prakash Javedkar, in charge of BJP in Kerala, hailed the victory of Suresh Gopi, saying it signals a significant change in the poll dynamics of Kerala, which has been bipolar for the last 75 years as far as elections are concerned.

At the same time, Rajmohan Unnithan, the winning Congress candidate from Kasargod, raised doubts that some undercurrents worked against the defeat of Congress candidate K Muralidharan. According to Unnithan, no surveys in the State had predicted the defeat of Muralidharan, the son of former Kerala Chief Minister K.Karunakaran.

Incidentally, Thrissur parliamentary constituency holds the distinction of defeating both son and father in the elections and his sibling Padmaja Venugopal in the assembly polls.

With the Congress-led UDF sweeping the polls in Kerala just like it did in 2019, CPI (M)’s ploy of fielding senior leaders seems to have backfired. Except for former assembly speaker K Radhakrishnan in Alathur, the performance of the LDF was not impressive in all other constituencies. Many of CPI(M)’s candidates in the state are in their late sixties or seventies, and the decision not to go for young blood may prove costly for the party.

It is pointed out by analysts that the poll outcome will be a reflection of the LDF rule in the State. Taking into account that analysis, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s second term could be deemed as a disappointment. The LDF government came to power consecutively for the second term in 2021 in the State.

The Chief Minister may also have to answer for the surge made by the BJP in the State. Both the LDF and the UDF have repeatedly reiterated that the BJP will not be allowed to win in the State. But the public at large seems to think otherwise.

With this rising vote percentage for the BJP, it can be assumed that the focus of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Kerala, who had made several visits to the State before the announcement of elections, yielded results.

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While Suresh Gopi won the Thrissur seat for BJP, several other candidates of the party have gained significant vote share. This includes Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who will end up second in the constituency. Similarly, another Union Minister, V Muralidharan, in Attingal is engaged in a neck-and-neck race. Shobha Surendran in Alappuzha has also gained over 2 lakh votes in the triangular contest where the Congress fielded the AICC general secretary, KC Venugopal.

However, State BJP leader K Surendran has fallen behind Rahul Gandhi of Congress and Annie Raja of CPI in Wayanad.

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