Thiruvananthapuram, 3/4 (AO Bureau):Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala, has always been an election ground for the BJP where they try to test their ideology. Here the Travancore royal family has an inclination towards BJP. Apart from this, BJP has strengthened its presence here in the last few years. In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, O. Rajagopal gave a tough fight to the CPM-LDF front and the Congress-UDF alliance. Rajagopal was leading Shashi Tharoor in the first several rounds during the counting of votes. Although he did not win. But after 7 years, Rajagopal managed to open a winning account for the BJP in the assembly elections. He won from Nimom in Thiruvananthapuram.
In this election, BJP candidates are winning the elections in at least four of the 14 assembly seats in the district. The four candidates who are expected to win are former state chief Kummanam Rajasekharan (Nimom), state general secretary Sobha Surendran (Kazhakkuttam), actor Krishna Kumar (Thiruvananthapuram-city) and senior leader VV Rajesh (Vattiyorkavu). Apart from this, two more BJP candidates in the district – PK Krishnadas (Kattakada) and Secretary of State C Sivankutty (Aruvikkar) are giving a tough challenge to the opponents.
Pinarayi Vijayan Vs PM Modi?
Talking to the English newspaper Indian Express, P Manoj, a voter of Nimom assembly constituency, said that this time this election contest is between Pinarayi Vijayan and PM Modi. Manoj is an upper-caste Hindu voter. He said, ‘BJP candidates will give tough competition to LDF and UDF on all seats in this district. This time in Kazhakoottam and Nimon, the competition is between NDA and LDF. Let me tell you that Manoj has been a silent voter of BJP. But this time they are openly talking in favor of the party.