The BJP is all set to field former Mizoram governor Kummanam Rajashekharan in place of veteran leader O Rajagopal from Nemom constituency in the forthcoming Assembly polls in the state scheduled to be held sometime in April-May.
The party has asked Kummanam to concentrate on the constituency. The former state president of BJP has taken a house on rent in Nemom as part of the party's election strategy. The party has decided not to field Rajagopal who has completed 91 years of age.
The party is of the opinion that Rajagopal had secured votes of people beyond the party fold which led to his victory. The BJP believes Kummananam Rajashekharan's popularity would be vital for it to retain the seat.
The RSS leadership has also directed BJP state president K Surendran to enter the electoral fray. A decision on the issue would be taken after eliciting the opinion of party leadership. In case Surendran decides to contest, he would enter the electoral fray from Thiruvananthapuram or Pathanamthitta. The central leadership of the BJP will take the final decision on the constituencies of prominent leaders.
It was through Rajagopal's victory that the BJP succeeded in opening its account in Kerala assembly in 2016 polls. The victory margin of Rajagopal was 8671 votes. While Rajagopal secured 67,813 votes, his nearest rival V Sivankutty of CPM could get only 59,142 votes. JDU candidate V Surendran Pillai secured 13,860 votes.
In 2011 Assembly polls, V Sivankutty had defeated O Rajagopal by a margin of 6415 votes. In the elections held in 2006 Congress leader N Shakhtan won from Nemom by a margin of 10,749 votes while BJP candidate Malayinkeezhu Radhakrishnan got just 6705 votes.
