Actor-turned-politician Suresh Gopi is all set to script history, by becoming the first Lok Sabha MP to be elected to the Parliament on a BJP ticket from Kerala. At the time of writing this report, Suresh Gopi maintained a comfortable lead of over 70,000 votes over his nearest rival LDF's V.S. Sunil Kumar in Thrissur.
Suresh Gopi had been the saffron party's candidate from Thrissur in the 2019 general elections and 2021 assembly elections but lost in both the elections. However, the party decided to go with him again in 2024 as well.
The party had indirectly introduced Suresh Gopi as the party's candidate at a women's conference in Thrissur, as the party appeared to have believed that women votes were to decide the fate of the actor-politician.
In the 2019 polls, the female voter turnout (79.55 per cent) has been significantly more than the male voter turnout (75.92 per cent) in the constituency. The female voter turnout in Thrissur has been higher than the average female voter turnout in the state (78.78 per cent) as well.
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The BJP leadership roped in several prominent women from the state, including actor Sobhana, P.T. Usha and Mariyakutty (86), who recently emerged as an “aam aadmi foe” against Pinarayi Vijayan and his LDF government, to be on stage with PM Modi on the day when the prime minister indirectly indicated Suresh Gopi's candidature in January.
Thrissur is a constituency with significant Christian population. By bringing Mariyakutty to the event, and making her speak in favour of Suresh Gopi, the BJP made an appeal to swing voters as well as the Christian vote bank.
Suresh Gopi had faced a sexual harassment case after a journalist alleged that he behaved inappropriately with her during a media interaction. The controversy arose when Suresh Gopi placed his hand on the journalist's shoulder twice without her consent at a hotel in Kozhikode. The BJP leadership had dismissed the case as political harassment by the Pinarayi Vijayan government and extended support to the actor.
The BJP's decision by the party to announce Suresh Gopi's candidacy in Thrissur through a women's conference in the presence of PM Modi was aimed at conveying to the general public, particularly the female electorate, that he is guileless.
—With inputs from Nirmal Jovial
