BJP likely to field Padmaja Venugopal in Thrissur, Sobha Surendran in Palakkad

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: There is a move to field Padmaja Venugopal as the BJP candidate in Thrissur. It is heard that the national leadership has directed the state leadership to field Padmaja. Union Minister Suresh Gopi is also interested in fielding Padmaja in Thrissur. Padmaja will be brought to Thrissur under the label of Suresh Gopi's candidate. Thrissur is a seat that the BJP has always considered as an A-class constituency.

The leadership had earlier informed that Padmaja would be considered for the Governor’s post. However, now the BJP's move is based on the demand for a strong candidate in Thrissur. Padmaja Venugopal accepted membership from Prakash Javadekar at the BJP headquarters in Delhi on March 7, 2024, naming those who back stabbed her.

According to the will, Padmaja is the heir to Murali Mandir, where K Karunakaran's memorial is located, but the people of Thrissur, who celebrated Karunakaran, have not given Padmaja a chance to win the election. Padmaja lost by 946 votes due to Suresh Gopi's unexpected entry in the last assembly elections. Another interesting fact is that this time Suresh Gopi will come to Thrissur to support Padmaja.

Meantime, there is also a move to field Sobha Surendran from Palakkad. Palakkad is one of the constituencies where the BJP performed well, including in the last by-election. BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar is likely to contest from Nemom and V Muraleedharan from Kazhakoottam. K Surendran is likely to contest from Manjeswaram constituency and Sobha Surendran in Palakkad or Kayamkulam seats.