‘Isn't Surendran responsible for increase of 10,000 votes in Chelakkara? Even if it was Shobha, nothing else would have happened’

PALAKKAD: C Krishna Kumar was fielded in Palakkad with the permission of the BJP central leadership. So, there is no point in blaming K Surendran or Shobha Surendran for the defeat, said advocate Jayashankar. The BJP garnered about 10,000 votes in Chelakkara this time. Is it possible to avoid Surendran from the responsibility.

Failure is not a new thing for the BJP. Victory is a new thing for them. Palakkad is a constituency where they have been contesting strongly since the party was formed in 1980. In the first election the party contested in 1982, O Rajagopal was fielded. He got only 8000 votes then.

Rahul Mamkootathil was a good candidate. The UDF’s election campaign for him was coordinated in a good way and was systematic also. The consolidation of Muslim votes was done to prevent BJP from winning. Organizations including Jamaat-e-Islami and SDPI united. Even if another candidate had replaced Krishna Kumar, he would have performed only this much. If Shobha Surendran had stood, local leaders in Palakkad would have done the same. Leaders including Krishna Kumar would have done it. Sometimes Rahul's majority may have decreased.

Suresh Gopi and Rajeev dissatisfied
After the heavy setback in Palakkad, BJP state president K Surendran is being attacked for the party’s poor performance. Many including the Krishnadas faction, has come out against the lapse of the leadership. There has also been discussion about the leakage of votes despite Surendran directly leading. There is also a demand for a change in leadership.

The leadership’s lapse in fielding C Krishna Kumar in Palakkad and insulting Sandeep Varier during the election campaign are some of the reasons cited for the poll debacle. The state president was not able to take everyone unitedly in the election campaign. In the initial phase of the road shows, the councilors of the municipality stayed away. No steps were taken to activate them in the election campaign. The Krishnadas faction has demanded that an urgent core committee be convened to discuss the setback faced in the election. Union Minister Suresh Gopi and former minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar are extremely unhappy in the selection of candidate in Palakkad.