Union Minister and BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar.
Credit: PTI Photo
Thiruvananthapuram: Union minister of state for electronics and IT and Rajya Sabha MP from Karnataka Rajeev Chandrasekhar is the frontrunner to become the BJP candidate in Thiruvananthapuram, where three-time Congress MP Shashi Tharoor is most likely to contest again.
With BJP national leadership giving due focus to Thiruvananthapuram as part of its efforts to open an account to Lok Sabha from Kerala, there were even rumours of Prime Minister Narendra Modi being considered as BJP candidate in Thiruvananthapuram, which party top leaders rejected as 'just rumours'. Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, external affairs minister S Jaishankar, ISRO chairman S Somanathan and national award winner actress and dancer Shobana were the other names that were doing the rounds.
BJP sources told DH that at present Chandrasekhar was the frontrunner as the candidate in Thiruvananthapuram.
There was speculation that Rajeev would contest from Bangalore Central, a seat that the BJP has held since its creation in 2009. However, some leaders in the state BJP feel that the incumbent PC Mohan is still the preferred choice in terms of winnability.
Even as his parents are Malayalis, the 59 year old industrialist-turned politician was born at Ahmedabad and settled in Bengaluru.
Sources said that Chandrasekhar could get considerable support from the upper caste Hindu Nair community, the second largest Hindu community in Kerala, as various Nair outfits had openly hailed his elevation as union minister earlier. Being a successful industrialist, he could also make an influence among the young voters of Thiruvananthapuram.
BJP also hopes that the Christian outreach efforts would also work in its favour in Thiruvananthapuram, which has considerable Christian vote banks.
But Congress camps are expressing confidence of a fourth victory for Tharoor owing to his rapport with all sections and high reputation.
In the 2014 elections Thiruvananthapuram witnessed a tight fight with BJP veteran O Rajagopal losing by only around 15,500 votes. But Tharoor recorded a thumping victory in 2019 with a margin of close to one lakh votes against BJP's Kummanam Rajasekharan.
Thiruvananthapuram is among the few constituencies in Kerala where the BJP is giving due attention. Hence the national leadership is directly focusing on the constituency to ensure that infights in the party did not affect the party's winning chances.
Prime Minister Narendran Modi will be addressing a public meeting in Thiruvananthapuram on February 27 in connection with the conclusion of party state president K Surendran-led Kerala yatra. A final decision on Chandrasekhar's candidature could emerge by then.