Thiruvananthapuram: The BJP is ready to give Malayalam actor Mohanlal a Lok Sabha ticket if he agrees to contest, party state general secretary MT Ramesh has said.
“Every party activist and voter in the 20 constituencies in Kerala would want him to contest. The party has not discussed it with the actor. It is up to Mohanlal to make his position clear,” Ramesh said.
“The party leadership has not received any recommendations regarding the actor. Mohanlal thinks highly of the central government. He has supported many of its welfare programmes. But it is not known if his politics goes beyond that. BJP’s prospects have increased now. The party can win big in Kerala without the help of central leaders,” he said.
A fortnight ago both actors Mohanlal and Mammootty had scotched rumours of entering into the political arena and confirmed that they would not contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Speculations have been rife that Mohanlal was in contention for a BJP ticket from the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency while reports in a section of media linked Mammootty to the Thrissur seat as an LDF candidate.
The rumours of Mohanlal cosying up to BJP had gained strength after he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on September 2.
Mammootty, a Left sympathiser, is also the chairman of the CPM-backed Kairali television channel. His close relations with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan only helped to fuel the speculation of him getting ready to take the electoral plunge.
In the past, both of them had campaigned when their colleagues were in the election fray. However, they are unlikely to join the campaign trail this time around.
However, actor-turned-politician Suresh Gopi, who is a Rajya Sabha MP, indicated his candidature depends on nod from the BJP leadership.
He had said the BJP leadership is yet to hold talks with him about Lok Sabha bid. It is up to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president Amit Shah and national organising secretary BL Santosh to decide on the candidacy, the actor had said. No decisions have been made yet, he had said.
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