After actor-turned-politician Suresh Gopi's victory in Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency, social media profiles, primarily from Kerala's left-leaning circles, launched attacks on the state's cultural capital with trolls and memes. Some of the trolls even mocked that Thrissur is no longer part of Kerala. Gopi achieved a significant victory with a margin of 74,686 votes, breaking the Kerala jinx for the saffron party. But is it logical to put all wrath on Thrissur? Data indicates that the BJP has made significant inroads in many other constituencies across the state.
Thiruvananthapuram is arguably the constituency where the BJP delivered its best political fight, as the victory in Thrissur can be attributed more to Gopi as the candidate. In Thiruvananthapuram, Rajeev Chandrashekar was a late entrant but managed to reduce Shashi Tharoor’s margin of victory from 99,989 votes to a mere 16,077. Previously, the BJP had led only in Nemom assembly segment. This time, the BJP gained leads in Kazhakkoottam (10,842), Vattiyoorkavu (8,162), and Nemom (22,126). Additionally, even in constituencies where Tharoor maintained a lead, his number of votes significantly decreased compared to 2019, while Chandrashekar’s votes increased in every constituency. For instance, in Neyyattinkara, the constituency with the largest margin between BJP and Congress, the BJP gained nearly 4,000 more votes this time, whereas the Congress lost close to 8,000 votes.
Attingal is another constituency where the BJP made significant gains in a triangular political fight. Last time, Sobha Surendran earned 2.48 lakh votes in Attingal. However, former Union Minister V. Muraleedharan started from there and increased the BJP’s total vote count to 3.11 lakh votes. All the assembly constituencies in the Attingal parliamentary seat are currently held by the LDF. Notably, the BJP took the lead in the Attingal assembly segment with a clear margin of over 6,000 votes. In the last assembly elections, BJP’s P. Sudheer earned 38,262 votes and came third, whereas Muraleedharan earned 52,448 votes here. Compared to 2019, the BJP increased its vote count by more than 10,000 votes in the Attingal, Vamanapuram, and Chirayinkeezhu segments. It is also notable that in six constituencies, except Aruvikkara, the BJP earned more than 40,000 votes. In Aruvikkara, the BJP earned 38,333 votes.
The election results clearly indicate a natural growth for the BJP in almost all the constituencies in Thiruvananthapuram district.
Alappuzha is another Lok Sabha constituency where the BJP delivered an outstanding performance. Firebrand leader Sobha Surendran, known for increasing the BJP vote share wherever she is fielded, raised the vote share from 17.2 per cent last time to 28.3 per cent, though she secured only third place after the UDF and the LDF. LDF candidate A. M. Ariff, who had been the only LDF candidate to win in 2019, earned less than 4 per cent more votes than Sobha this time. Notably, Ariff was dropped to third position in two constituencies—Haripad and Kayamkulam.
Another Lok Sabha constituency in the Travancore belt that saw NDA’s growth is Mavelikkara, where the BJP’s alliance partner, BDJS, increased its vote share by 2 per cent. However, Pathanamthitta was a disappointment for the BJP as its vote share dropped from 28.97 per cent to 25.29 per cent. P.C. George, who supposedly wields influence in the Poonjar region, did not bring a significant increase in votes for the BJP. It is worth noting that last time, the mishandling of the Sabarimala women entry issue was a hot topic in Pathanamthitta, which likely influenced the vote share. However, this time, no such issue was present, and the BJP central leadership's decision to field Anil Antony as the candidate misfired.
In Alathur, a constituency neighboring Thrissur, the BJP increased its vote share by more than 10 per cent, impacting incumbent UDF MP Remya Haridas’s chances of retaining the seat. Remya lost to LDF’s K. Radhakrishnan by a margin of 2 per cent.
In the Palakkad, BJP’s C. Krishnakumar increased the party’s vote share from 21.44 per cent in 2019 to 24.26 per cent in 2024. Notably, the Palakkad assembly constituency will see a byelection soon as Shafi Parambil—who defeated the BJP candidate, Metro Man E. Sreedharan, in the 2021 assembly elections by a slim margin of less than 2.7 per cent—will leave the constituency to become the new MP of Vadakara. In the Lok Sabha polls, Krishnakumar earned 43,072 votes from the Palakkad assembly segment, compared to 39,963 votes last time. Although Krishnakumar's performance did not match E. Sreedharan’s 50,220 votes in 2021, Palakkad is still seen as an assembly segment where the BJP has the potential to win.
In the Wayanad constituency, where Rahul Gandhi contested, the BJP fielded state president K. Surendran. Though the BJP had no realistic chance of winning there, Surendran delivered an impressive performance. Compared to 2019, the BJP gained 62,229 more votes. During the campaign, Surendran sparked controversy by calling for renaming Sulthan Bathery to Ganapati Vattam. Sulthan Bathery town is associated with Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan, and Surendran stated that his priority would be to change the town's name to Ganapathy Vattam if he got elected. Interestingly, Surendran earned 35,709 votes from the Sulthan Bathery assembly segment—almost 20,000 more votes compared to 2019. Additionally, Surendran secured more than 24,000 votes in each of the three assembly segments within the Wayanad district.
Kasaragod is another Lok Sabha constituency in north Kerala where the BJP made significant gains. Compared to 2019, BJP candidate M.L. Ashwini managed to gain 39,620 more votes for the saffron party, taking the BJP tally to over 2.1 lakh votes. Manjeshwar, one of the seven state legislative assembly constituencies included in the Kasaragod Lok Sabha constituency, is a place where the BJP lost the 2021 assembly elections by a margin of less than 900 votes. Lok Sabha polls indicate that BJP is making significant strides in this region, too.
