Kerala BJP win tremors rock rivals; defeated Congress candidate points finger at own party

A war of words has erupted between the CPI(M) and Congress in Kerala over Suresh Gopi’s groundbreaking win in Thrissur, with both accusing each other of helping the BJP register its first poll victory in the state.

The Congress’ vote share in Thrissur dropped from 39.83% in 2019 to 30.08% this time, while the BJP’s increased from 29.19% to 37.8%. The CPI(M)-led LDF vote share remained more or less intact, 30.95% now compared to 30.85% in 2019.

Adding to the Congress’s embarrassment, its losing Thrissur candidate K Muraleedharan, who won the Vadakara Lok Sabha seat in 2019, also blamed his party for his defeat. “The Congress machinery in the constituency (Thrissur) was in a shambles. Prime Minister Narendra Modi campaigned for Gopi and Chief Minister (Pinarayi) Vijayan campaigned for the LDF. No one came for me,” he said, adding that he may have won had he contested from Vadakara again.

Muraleedharan had already begun campaigning in Vadakara when he was abruptly informed that he was being fielded from Thrissur, following his sister Padmaja Venugopal’s switch to the BJP. The two are children of the late Congress Kerala veteran, K Karuankaran.

A section of the Youth Congress leaders have also raised questions over Muraleedharan’s loss, demanding the resignation of district president Jose Vallore and senior leader T N Prathapan, who had won in 2019 from Thrissur.

Reaching out to Muraleedharan, Kerala Congress chief K Sudhakaran said the party will review what went wrong in Thrissur. “The outcome was totally unexpected. Muraleedharan is an asset for the party and is not a leader who should stay away from public life. We will ensure he is active in the Congress at any cost,” he said.

While the Congress infighting is out in the open,