Got close to success after years of hard work, finally Suresh Gopi has taken Thrissur 

THRISSUR: Suresh Gopi, the NDA candidate from Thrissur, has taken the lead step by step with signs of lotus blooming in Kerala. When reports last came in, he was leading by more than 44002 votes. Congress's K Muraleedharan is in the third place. Suresh Gopi got an upper hand after one and a half hours in the constituency where UDF and LDF was advancing alternately in the beginning when the votes were counting.

With the arrival of Suresh Gopi, Thrissur was gaining attention not only in Kerala but also at the national level. Suresh Gopi, who entered the contest on the last day of filing the nomination papers in the last Lok Sabha elections, intensified his campaign in a few days by saying that he would take Thrissur and increased the vote percentage by shaking both the fronts. Suresh Gopi secured 2,93,822 votes then. The hard work that started then is now leading to a success. Although he contested from Thrissur in the last assembly elections, he had said that Lok Sabha was his goal.

The BJP leadership was ready to test Suresh Gopi in Thrissur in 2019 when the Sabarimala issue was burning. Even though the Election Commission warned him to say anything about Sabarimala during the campaign, Suresh Gopi had raised the issue. However, he intensified his campaign in Thrissur by saying 'this time a union minister from Thrissur, Modi's guarantee'. It was the popular face he created by entering houses for lunch and touching the baby bump of a pregnant lady that helped Suresh Gopi grow to the point of beating V S Sunil Kumar and K Muraleedharan.

The lead status makes it clear that the sahakari march he led against the Karuvannur Cooperative Bank fraud gave the BJP and the NDA a great mileage. The BJP's campaign aimed at capturing Thrissur in Kerala, which is their stronghold. Prime Minister Modi was brought many times for that. Suresh Gopi was also an unofficially announced candidate before the election was announced. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Thrissur thrice for Suresh Gopi.

Suresh Gopi's campaign was in his own cinema style, even though his opponents trolled him a lot. People assembled to meet the candidate and take selfies with him. However, the BJP themselves had doubts whether all this would turn into votes. That doubt has now changed.

Political observers said the support of women was in favour of Suresh Gopi. The Sthree Shakthi Meet was a grace mark for Suresh Gopi. Suresh Gopi was able to create an impression among the people and the party ranks that the state BJP has no control over him and that he is the Centre's own person. He was also able to secure the support of the minority community by dedicating the golden crown at Our Lady of Lourdes. Political observers assessed that for the first time in history, Thrissur Pooram turning an election issue favoured Suresh Gopi.