Rajeev Chandrasekhar made inroads in T'puram within one month of campaigning but was tackled by this Tharoor strategy

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Shashi Tharoor fourth win in the Lok Sabha elections from Thiruvananthapuram is because he had foreseen the danger. Rajeev Chandrasekhar was announced as the BJP candidate in Thiruvananthapuram at the last minute. Congress workers initially did not see any danger in the Union Minister's candidacy. But in a very short time, Rajeev Chandrasekhar understood the pulse of the voters in the capital and started moving forward.

Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency consists of four urban constituencies, two village constituencies and Kovalam which includes corporation wards and panchayats. Unwavering support for Shashi Tharoor at the coastal and village constituencies has always helped him keep Thiruvananthapuram. Rajeev Chandrasekhar's had studied this fact and focused his campaigning at the coastal and rural areas as the BJP has a definite vote bank in urban areas.

Tharoor realized that Rajeev Chandrasekhar had done his homework and is working to crack down on his strongholds, decided to implement Plan B. Tharoor's Plan B came to his rescue once again when the anti-Tharoor votes in the urban areas was focused on Rajeev. During the campaign, Tharoor found more time to reach the hinterlands of each panchayat in Parassala and Neyyatinkara regions.

Tharoor's campaign was mostly through rural areas. The election victory is the result of his presence in the rural areas. When the people who were with him asked why he campaigned so far inside the rural areas, Tharoor said, "Voters will think that the candidate has taken effort to come to our house. They will tell this to the heads of the family who have gone out to work. Sometimes it will turn into votes".

Tharoor also realized that Rajeev Chandrasekhar might be able to make a dent in the coastal vote bank, albeit a small one. Tharoor campaigned in the coastal region by claiming that he has raised his voice 20 times for coastal residents in Parliament. At every campaign location, he highlighted that the problems of the fishermen were brought before the central government several times and breakwater was built to protect Pozhiyur and Kochuthope. Tharoor was able to garner a significant number of coastal votes with this.