Suresh Gopi, BJP's first Lok Sabha MP from Kerala, became the MoS of Tourism and Culture in the NDA Cabinet 3.0 on Monday. Senior leader Gajendra Singh Shekhawat is the Cabinet Minister in charge of both the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
Earlier, media in Kerala had asked the 65-year-old leader whether he opted for the post of Minister of State (MoS) considering his film commitments. "Nothing was demanded. I had told (them) that I don't want this. I feel that I will be relieved without delay," Suresh Gopi said in his reply.
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In a Facebook post, Thrissur MP Suresh Gopi had said that it is a matter of pride for him to be in the Council of Ministers of the Modi government and to represent the people of Kerala. His statement came after his remarks to the media on Sunday night, expressing hope that he would soon be relieved of his post as he wants to do more films, sparking speculation about his continued role in the Modi-led government.
"A few media platforms are spreading the incorrect news that I am going to resign from the Council of Ministers of the Modi Government. This is grossly incorrect. It is a matter of pride for me to be in the Council of Ministers of the Modi Government and to represent the people of Kerala," Gopi said in the post
George Kurian and Suresh Gopi are the two leaders from Kerala who will be part of the third NDA government under PM Modi.
Suresh Gopi registered a historic win for the BJP from Thrissur defeating CPI's VS Sunil Kumar and Congress leader K Muraleedharan. Gopi polled 4,12,338 votes to win the high-octane contest, while runner-up VS Sunil Kumar of CPI got 3,37,652. Muraleedharan finished third polling 3,28,124. TN Prathapan of Congress had won from Thrissur in 2019 beating Rajaji Mathew Thomas of CPI by a margin of 93,633 votes. Prathapan, who didn't contest this time, polled 415,089 votes while third-placed Suresh Gopi managed only 2,93,822.