Bharathiya Janata Party, Kerala Explained

Native Name:ഭാരതീയ ജനതാ പാർട്ടി, കേരളം
Leader:
Party Logo:File:Bharatiya Janata Party logo.svg
Abbreviation:BJP
President:K Surendran
Headquarters:Mararji Bhavan,Opposite Thycaud HouseThycaud,Thiruvananthapuram, 695014
Colours: Saffron
State Seats Name:Kerala Legislative Assembly
Symbol:Lotus
Flag:BJP flag.svg
Bharatiya Janata Party, Keralam
Eci:registered
Founder:

The Bharatiya Janata Party,Keralam or simply, BJP Keralam (BJP; pronounced as /bʱaːɾət̪iːjə dʒənət̪aː paːrtiː/;),is the state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party of the Kerala. Its head office is situated at the Mararji Bhavan, Opposite Thycaud House, Thycaud, Thiruvananthapuram.The current president of Kerala BJP is K Surendran. It is an opposition party in Kerala even though the principal opposition party is Congress lead UDF. Till date BJP is unsuccessful in forming a government in Kerala.

Electoral history

The electoral performance of BJP in Kerala is mostly unsuccessful. Till date BJP is able to produce only one legislator and one Member of Parliament from the state even though it is successful in increasing its vote share.

The best electorial performance of BJP in Kerala Legislative Assembly was done by O Rajagopal. In the 2011 Assembly elections he contested from the Nemom constituency in Thiruvananthapuram, but eventually lost by a margin of 6,400 votes. He lost the by-election from Neyyattinkara, which was held on 2 June 2012. However, he increased the BJP votes from 6,730 (2011 Assembly Election) to 30,507; an almost five-fold increase within a span of a year.[1] The BJP vote share also significantly increased from 6.0% in the 2011 election to 23.2%.He then contested in Aruvikkara by-election and finished third, although his personal influence ensured that in the contest BJP increased votes from 7,694 to 34,145 causing division of anti-incumbency vote resulting in the victory of UDF.[2] In the 2016 Assembly elections he contested from Nemom and defeated the sitting MLA V. Sivankutty, by a margin of 8,671 votes creating history and becoming the first MLA to enter Kerala Legislative Assembly from BJP at the age of 87.[3]

Suresh Gopi created history by becoming the first person to be elected from Kerala to Parliament on BJP ticket.He won the election with a majority of over 74,000 votes.[4] [5] [6] [7] Of the seven assembly constituencies that make up the Thrissur Lok Sabha segment, Suresh Gopi was ahead in six, except Guruvayoor: Manalur by 8,013 votes, Ollur by 10,363 votes, Thrissur by 14,117 votes, Nattika by 13,945 votes, Irinjalakuda by 13,016 votes and Puthukad by 12,692 votes.[8] He was appointed as the Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, as well as the Minister of State for Tourism, in the third Modi ministry in June 2024.[9] [10]

Lok Sabha elections

YearSeats won+/-
2019
2024 1

Legislative Assembly elections

YearSeats won+/-Outcome
1982 0
1987 0
1991 0-
1996 0-
20010-
2006 0-
2011 0-
2016 1Opposition
20211-

Leadership

In 1980, the Janata Party split and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was formed. O Rajagopal then served as its Kerala president until 1985.

K G Marar became the second president and served from 1985 to 1990.[11]

In January 2010 V Muralidharan was elected as the State President of the Kerala BJP.[12] He was elected for his second term in the office in January 2013.[13] .Under his leadership, the kerala BJP had a vote share of 10.8 percent in the 2014 Lok Sabha Election whereas it only recorded 6.4 percent in 2009. The total votes BJP got in the local body elections was nearly 28 Lakhs.[14] The 2014–2015 membership drive has expanded the party membership base from 5.75 lakhs to 20 lakhs.[15]

Kummanam Rajeshekar became the state president on 2015.[16]

K Surendran was appointed the state president of Bharatiya Janata Party on February 15, 2020.[17]

List of presidents

No[18] NamePeriod
1O. Rajagopal198019855 years
2K. G. Marar19851990199419956 years
3K Raman Pillai 199019944 years
4K V Sreedharan Master199519983 years
5C K Padmanabhan199820035 years
6P. S. Sreedharan Pillai20032006201820194 year
7P K Krishnadas200620093 years
8V. Muraleedharan200920155 years
9Kummanam Rajasekharan201520183 years
10K Surendran 2020present

See also

References

Works cited

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Result of by-election from Neyyattinkara Assemblyconstiutency, Kerala. keralaassembly.org. 2017-01-29.
  2. Web site: 2015-06-30. In Aruvikkara, BJP produces five-fold increase in vote share at the cost of CPI(M). 2020-09-18. The Indian Express. en.
  3. Web site: This is O Rajagopal, BJP’s first legislator ever in Kerala. 19 May 2016.
  4. Web site: 2024-03-02 . BJP to contest in 12 LS seats in Kerala: Suresh Gopi in Thrissur, Rajeev Chandrasekhar in TVM . 2024-03-04 . English.Mathrubhumi . en . 4 March 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240304145550/https://english.mathrubhumi.com/news/kerala/bjp-to-contest-in-12-seats-in-lok-sabha-elections-1.9372346 . live .
  5. Web site: 2024-06-04 . Lok Sabha election results: BJP makes Lok Sabha debut in Kerala as Suresh Gopi wins in Thrissur . 2024-06-04 . Financialexpress . en . 4 June 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240604154646/https://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/bjp-makes-lok-sabha-debut-in-kerala-as-suresh-gopi-wins-in-thrissur-lok-sabha-elections/3514085/ . live .
  6. Web site: Thrissur LS Election Result 2024: Thumping victory for Suresh Gopi . 2024-06-04 . www.onmanorama.com . 4 June 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240604160149/https://www.onmanorama.com/news/kerala/2024/06/04/lok-sabha-elections-kerala-thrissur-suresh-gopi-muraleedharan-sunil-kumar.html . live .
  7. Web site: 2024-06-04 . Suresh Gopi: All You Need to Know About Malayalam Actor Behind BJP's Entry Into Kerala . 2024-06-04 . News18 . en . 4 June 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240604163513/https://www.news18.com/elections/suresh-gopi-all-you-need-to-know-about-malayalam-actor-behind-bjps-entry-into-kerala-8921303.html . live .
  8. Web site: Congress' Thrissur dilemma: Where did 10% votes go? . 2024-06-10 . www.onmanorama.com . 10 June 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240610163644/https://www.onmanorama.com/news/kerala/2024/06/05/lok-sabha-elections-thrissur-bjp-congress-ldf-vote-share.html . live .
  9. Web site: Shri Suresh Gopi assumes charge as Minister of State for Tourism . 2024-06-14 . pib.gov.in.
  10. Web site: 2024-06-10 . After 'didn't want' Cabinet berth comment, BJP MP Suresh Gopi issues clarification on 'incorrect news' . 2024-06-12 . The Indian Express . en . 12 June 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240612122858/https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/thiruvananthapuram/i-didnt-want-cabinet-berth-first-time-union-minister-of-state-suresh-gopi-9382704/ . live .
  11. Web site: Bharatiya Janata Party, Kerala State . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090414072814/http://www.bjpkerala.org/mararji.htm . 14 April 2009 . 7 October 2009.
  12. News: V Muralidhar Kerala state BJP president . The Hindu . 28 January 2010 . 5 July 2015.
  13. News: V Muraleedharan to continue as BJP Kerala president . https://web.archive.org/web/20150708172358/http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/article1469297.ece . dead . 8 July 2015 . Indian Express . 18 February 2013 . 5 July 2015 .
  14. News: BJP to form new front in State . The Hindu . 18 May 2014 . 5 July 2015 .
  15. BJP Chief Confident of Party's Growth. The New Indian Express. 4 April 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150428195707/http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/BJP-Chief-Confident-of-Partys-Growth/2015/04/04/article2746423.ece
  16. Web site: BJP to fight Kerala polls on Hindutva: State chief Kummanam Rajasekharan. Vasudha. Venugopal. 8 January 2016. The Economic Times - The Times of India.
  17. Web site: Surendran, the aggressive face of BJP in Kerala, appointed state president. From our online. archive. 15 February 2020. The New Indian Express.
  18. Web site: Bharatiya Janata Party.