Thiruvananthapuram: SNDP Yogam general secretary Vellapally Natesan on Sunday said the BJP's Lok Sabha candidate in Thrissur Suresh Gopi would lose from the constituency. "Suresh Gopi is not a politician and that will cost him. His lack of experience as a politician has already caused problems in Thrissur," said Natesan.
He, however, said the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) would increase their vote share in the state. Natesan criticised all three fronts for solely focusing on minorities during the election. "All three fronts were competing to appease the minorities," he said.
Natesan said he had advised his son Thushar against contesting the polls. "There's no chance Thushar would garner all the Ezhava votes. He contested based on the instructions of the front," said Natesan. Thushar Vellapally was the NDA's candidate in the Kottayam constituency.
He then predicted a UDF win in the state in the elections, though not as huge as the victory in 2019. "All 20 constituencies were hotly contested. There's no point in making predictions based on hearsay. In Alappuzha, if Sobha Surendran garners more votes, it will benefit Ariff (LDF candidate). Whereas, if she doesn't get as many votes, Venugopal (UDF candidate) would reap the benefits. However, Sobha will fare much better in the constituency than the BJP did here in the earlier election," opined Natesan.
Giving his two cents on the E P Jayarajan-Prakash Javadekar meeting, the SNDP leader said the controversy could have been avoided. "Jayarajan is a senior leader. Party leaders will meet each other. However, the time and situation of the meeting is important. Had the meeting happened with the CPM's knowledge, it would not have been an issue. But if it's taken place otherwise, then it is a mistake as per party policy. Jayarajan is two steps behind as LDF convener. He hasn't made any strong statements. The resort controversy he is embroiled in could be the reason," said Natesan, adding he had no comments on whether Jayarajan would join the BJP.