Thrissur: Prime Minister Narendra Modi repeatedly gave several guarantees in his name while addressing a gathering of 2 lakh women during BJP's Mahila Sangamam in Thrissur on Wednesday.
The BJP supporters in Thrissur seemed to have hoped for another guarantee from the PM – the candidacy of actor-turned-politician Suresh Gopi from the Lok Sabha constituency. But there was none to come by.
However, the message was clear during the prime minister's 1.5-km roadshow that began at the General Hospital Junction and ended at Thekkinkad Maidan, the venue of the event, which famously hosts the Thrissur Pooram.
Only three people boarded the vehicle, decked up in bright saffron, along with Narendra Modi, during the roadshow. BJP Kerala president K Surendran, Suresh Gopi and state president of Mahila MorchaAdvocate Nivedida.
On a day when several veterans and national leaders of the party were present for the conference, a smiling Gopi finding space beside Modi on the roadshow vehicle was a clear message for the public and opposition alike.
Besides, minutes before Modi's arrival in the city, BJP's former national executive member Shobha Surendran said: “Suresh Gopi is fondly loved in every family in Thrissur as a son, brother and parent. The fact that people love Suresh Gopi is not taken well by Pinarayi Vijayan. Because, if he wins, he will return to Thrissur definitely as a Union Minister. Whatever your caste, colour or religion, we all will fight together for the unity of Thrissur and fight for the development of this land. I will stop by mentioning that please accept Suresh Gopi as your son.”
A senior BJP leader, who wished not to be named, thinks Gopi has impressed the national leadership. “The 18-km ‘padayathra’ Gopi undertook, almost all alone, to protest the corruption and money laundering in the CPM-controlled Karuvannur Service Co-operative Bank, was well received by the central leadership of the party,” he said.
On January 1, graffiti appeared on three locations in Thrissur urging people to vote for Gopi in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.“People express desire in many ways. Some will tell their desires to Gopi directly. Some will tell the party leadership. Some people say through graffiti. It should be seen only as a general feeling of the people of Thrissur,” BJP State General Secretary MT Ramesh told media persons.
According to a source, Gopi is all set to be the NDA candidate from Thrissur. He had contested the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and lost. In 2016, he had been nominated to the Rajya Sabha.
