Former BJP Kerala unit president Kummanam Rajasekharan, who is currently serving as the governor of Mizoram, might return to state politics and contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls after relinquishing the constitutional post, according to party state spokesperson M.S. Kumar.
“Party workers want him to return to active politics and contest the next Parliament elections,” Kumar, told Manorama News and indicated Rajasekharan, who is keen to return to Kerala politics, might seek the mandate from the Thiruvananthapuram constituency.
Moreover, with the Supreme Court verdict on Sabarimala becoming a politically sensitive issue in Kerala, the BJP central leadership is said to be under intense pressure to give Rajasekharan an opportunity to play an active role in state politics, party sources said.
What has been prompting a section of the state BJP leaders to persuade Rajasekharan to return to state politics is his image of a leader whose appeal cuts across party lines. Although he was active in social and religious spheres, electoral politics was rather new to Rajasekharan when he contested the 2016 assembly elections from the Vattiyoorkavu constituency in Thiruvananthapuram. Yet, he managed to finish second behind Congress' K. Muraleedharan by garnering 43,700 votes and pushed CPI(M)'s T.N. Seema to third spot.
The BJP leadership firmly believes that no other BJP candidate could have pulled off such a remarkable result in the keenly contested battle. While the BJP emerged victorious in the Nemom seat, fulfiling the party's goal of opening its account in the state assembly, it managed to finish second in Kazhakoottam as well.
There is a general perception that Rajasekharan's candidature would boost the BJP's chances in the Thiruvananthapuram seat, given the BJP’s strong base in the area and the mileage it could gain from the Sabarimala controversy, which has changed equations within Hindu organisations.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, BJP’s O Rajagopal went down to Congress’s Shashi Tharoor by a margin of 15,470 votes, but the party had a healthy lead in four assembly constituencies—Kazhakoottam, Vattiyoorkavu, Thiruvananthapuram and Nemom. Tharoor emerged victorious by virtue of the lead he secured in Kovalam, Neyyattinkara and Parassala constituencies. The BJP state leadership is of the opinion that the political climate is more favourable for the party now.
There is nothing new or unusual about governors returning to active politics. In 2014, Nikhil Kumar had quit as the Kerala governor and successfully contested the Lok Sabha polls from the Aurangabad constituency in Bihar. If Rajasekharan decides to relinquish his gubernatorial position and enter the election fray, Thiruvananthapuram will once again witness an engrossing three-cornered fight.
-Via onmanorama
