Suresh Gopi
Suresh Gopi, BJP's first MP from Kerala, aims to work in Tamil Nadu too
Thiruvananthapuram/IBNS: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s lone MP from Kerala, actor-turned politician Suresh Gopi, has expressed his intention to work in the other south Indian state Tamil Nadu, where the saffron party has surged significantly.
Gopi, who won from Thrissur, said as quoted by The News Minute, "I have said earlier itself that if voters of Thrissur select me as their MP, I would not be settled within Thrissur.
"I would be an MP who will work for not just Kerala, but also Tamil Nadu which lies in the periphery. Karnataka does not need me as there are smarter men to look after the state."
In Thrissur, BJP's win led UDF to suffer a loss of 9 percent votes besides relegating to the third spot.
The BJP's vote share grew from 13 percent in 2019 to 16.68% in 2024.
BJP's success story in Kerala
In Kerala, BJP had contested in 16 seats while its ally BDJS fought on 4 others.
In Thiruvananthapuram, where Congress leader Shashi Tharoor won after a tough contest, BJP's Rajeev Chandrasekhar, an outgoing Union Minister, closed in by reducing the former's winning margin from 99,000 in 2019 to little over 16,000 in 2024.
In Attingal, former BJP state president V Muraleedharan offered a tough fight to the LDF and UDF polling 3,11,779 votes. The BJP's vote share improved from 24.97% to 31.64% in the seat.
The party's vote share has significantly grown in three seats- Alappuzha, Palakkad and Alathur.
BJP's growth in Tamil Nadu
The BJP-led NDA may have drawn a blank in Tamil Nadu in the Lok Sabha elections but achieved its best ever performance when it comes to vote share, after its supreme leader Narendra Modi campaigned hard in the state with his frequent visits.
Without the support of any major Dravidian players, the NDA has achieved 18.27% though it failed to open its account.
The NDA has fared best in the southern part of the state, which has 39 seats up for grabs. The coalition has recorded 22.27% votes in southern Tamil Nadu.
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