Suresh Gopi's Historic Win Spurs Blame Game in Kerala
Suresh Gopi's win in Thrissur marks BJP's first Lok Sabha seat in Kerala, sparking a blame game between CPM and Congress over shifting vote shares
Thiruvananthapuram: It has been nearly a week since Suresh Gopi won the first-ever Lok Sabha seat for the BJP in Kerala.
On Tuesday, he took charge as a union minister. However, the CPM and Congress continue to exchange accusations, each holding the other responsible for the victory of the Malayalam superstar in Thrissur.
CPM state secretary M V Govindan said the significant decrease in Congress-led UDF vote share, which was close to 9.81 percent, resulted in the BJP opening its account in Kerala. The UDF lost 86,965 votes in the constituency while the LDF increased its vote share by 16,000.
The results, however, indicate that Suresh Gopi, who increased his vote share by 1,18,516 votes compared to 2019 Lok Sabha polls, has attracted votes from both the UDF and LDF.
The CPM leader mentioned that the outcome in Thrissur was similar to the result in the Nemom constituency in the 2016 assembly elections, when there was a significant decrease in the UDF's vote share, leading to the BJP winning its first MLA seat in Kerala. In the recent Lok Sabha polls, the BJP was ahead in 11 assembly constituencies.
According to Govindan, the UDF lost 7235 votes in the Guruvayur constituency. Similarly, there was a significant drop in the vote share of the UDF in the Manalur, Ollur, Thrissur, Nattika, Irinjalakuda, Attingal, Kattakada, Kazhakoottam, Vattiyoorkavu, and Nemom constituencies. The BJP performed exceedingly well in these areas, indicating that the Congress vote is shifting to their camp. The Congress needs to improve its performance to counteract this trend.
The CPM state secretary stated that the Left Front's defeat in the Lok Sabha elections was unexpected. He mentioned that the defeat will be thoroughly examined and any organizational shortcomings will be addressed.
Govindan accused the Congress of unleashing false propaganda against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan during the campaign. Even Rahul Gandhi’s speeches in Kerala were based on misinformation.
It may be recalled that AICC general secretary K C Venugopal had attributed the LDF’s defeat in Lok Sabha polls to its `soft’ stand towards the BJP-RSS.