Palakkad: Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas and the Ministry of Tourism Suresh Gopi and the BJP's Kerala Unit President K Surendran were divided when it came to their predictions for the party in the 2026 State Assembly polls. But both were confident that the party would make significant inroads into the State politics in the next two years.

"If you give us Palakkad and Chelakkara, Kerala will have a BJP Chief Minister in 2026," Surendran said on Saturday, while referring to the bypolls in the two assembly constituencies.

Meanwhile, Suresh Gopi said that at least 27 MLAs should win the Kerala Assembly elections in 2026. "Guided by their political acumen, our leaders will be ambitious. But I'm being practical. At least 27 legislators must be voted to power from the BJP in 2026. We should determine who will rule the State," he said. This is not the first time the Thrissur MP has contradicted the statements of his peers in the party.

The actor-turned-politician made these comments at a reception meeting hosted by the BJP for Union Ministers George Kurien and Suresh Gopi in Palakkad. The recent victories of Palakkad’s MLA Shafi Parambil in Vadakara and Chelakkara’s MLA K Radhakrishnan in Alathur in the Lok Sabha elections have necessitated by-elections in those Assembly constituencies.

Suresh Gopi also remarked that if he hugs someone and promises to build a house for Rs 4 lakh, the ministers of Kerala will rush over, claiming they can do it. He added that if the state government fails to take the necessary actions for the medical college established for Scheduled Castes in Palakkad, he would make arrangements to ensure the necessary work is done.

"When I met MP K Radhakrishnan on the floor of Parliament, I spoke to him about the medical college established here for Scheduled Castes. If you don’t know its current condition, you should make a concerted effort to find out from today. Like Karuvannur, our intervention on this issue will guide us to success," Suresh Gopi said.

"If the Kerala government does not address the issue, I have made arrangements to take care of everything needed for the children studying medicine there. However, a trend I've noticed is that if I hug someone and offer them a house for Rs 4 lakh, ministers will run to help. They'll claim that they can do it."

"But if seats are denied to the Scheduled Castes, then none of these leaders have the right to come here and perform this circus in Parliament. It is not enogh to parade about with the constitution. It should come from the heart. The whole world will not applaud for your antics just because you appear on television while at Parliament. If it’s in your heart, people will understand it without you having to show it," said Suresh Gopi.