The BJP’s top leadership in Kerala on Wednesday closed ranks around Union Minister of State for Tourism and Petroleum Suresh Gopi, as he faced mounting attacks from the Congress-led UDF and the CPI(M) over alleged irregularities in his 2024 Lok Sabha election victory from Thrissur.
BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar said any alleged illegality in connection with a candidate’s election should be raised before the Election Commission or the courts, “instead of spreading lies to fool and provoke the public.”
He accused the CPI(M) and the Congress of colluding to mislead the people by alleging widespread voter fraud in the 2024 Thrissur Lok Sabha election.
Chandrasekhar questioned the timing of the allegations, pointing out that they were being raised one-and-a-half years after Suresh Gopi’s victory. He said such matters should be addressed through a formal complaint or election petition.
“They do not do that. Instead, they try to provoke the public with lies or divert people’s attention with propaganda. It is all a show,” he claimed.
He further alleged that such “dramas” were being orchestrated by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan as elections approach.
Meanwhile, Suresh Gopi reached Thrissur and met BJP workers injured in police action during a protest on Tuesday. He received a grand welcome at Thrissur railway station but did not respond to media queries about the allegations. Former state BJP chief K. Surendran said the party, which ran Gopi’s campaign, would respond on his behalf.
“There is no need for Suresh Gopi to respond,” Surendran said, adding that those aggrieved should approach the Election Commission of India or the courts. He questioned why the Congress and CPI(M), who now claim thousands of fake votes were added, failed to detect or act on it earlier.
On Tuesday, senior Congress leader and former Thrissur MP TN Prathapan filed a complaint seeking a criminal investigation against Suresh Gopi, alleging that he submitted a false affidavit claiming more than six months’ domicile in the constituency before filing his nomination for the 2024 elections.
Prathapan claimed Gopi’s voter registration transfer to Thrissur was illegal and part of a criminal conspiracy. According to him, Gopi’s name was added to booth number 115 in Thrissur despite the Representation of the People Act allowing only permanent residents to vote in a given booth.
He alleged that Gopi and his family have long lived at house number 22/1788 in the Sasthamangalam division of the Thiruvananthapuram constituency, where their names still appear on the voter list, even after Gopi became a Union Minister.
Earlier on Monday, CPI leader VS Sunil Kumar, the runner-up in the Thrissur election, alleged clear manipulation in the electoral roll that facilitated Gopi’s win.
Kerala General Education Minister V Sivankutty on Tuesday demanded a re-election in Thrissur, citing widespread allegations of voter fraud before and after the polls. He claimed that between 30,000 and 60,000 fake votes may have been added to the rolls.
Thrissur witnessed heightened political tensions on Wednesday as BJP workers marched to the City Police Commissioner’s office to protest the alleged attack on party workers and the camp office of Union Minister and MP Suresh Gopi by CPM activists.
The march, led by K. Surendran and state general secretary Shobha Surendran, was stopped by police barricades near the Commissioner’s office. Waving party flags, BJP workers climbed onto the barricades and refused to disperse, even after police used water cannons three times.