Kochi: The BJP has effected its most radical decision in Kerala by picking former Union Minister of State Rajeev Chandrasekhar to lead the party’s state unit. His appointment as the BJP’s state president is only a matter of formality now with him being nominated for the post at the party’s core committee meeting in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday. After due election procedures, the official announcement will be made on Monday.

Chandrasekhar’s appointment to the helm of the party state unit marks a tectonic shift in the BJP’s approach in Kerala. The technocrat-turned-politician represents everything that is unusual about the saffron wing in the southern state. He is junior to many in the leadership when it comes to party politics. Still, the national leadership has found in him someone who can drive the party to new territories with his potential appeal to sections beyond the party class. 

The former Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka tested his electoral fortune in Kerala in the Lok Sabha elections last year from the Thiruvananthapuram constituency. Though he could not win, he gave a scare to Congress’ Shashi Tharoor by reducing his winning margin to just 16,077 votes against 99,989 in 2019. The election helped him prove his appeal to a broader section of people, people management skills and command over the organisation, making him a favourite for the state chief’s post. 

The BJP national leadership and the RSS’ attempt to end the perceived factionalism in the BJP state unit are evident in Chandrasekhar's selection. He is not aligned with either of the two major factions in the Kerala BJP—one led by outgoing president K Surendran and the other by veteran P K Krishnadas.

Sources in the state BJP said that Chandrasekhar is coming to the top post with the support of a team of leaders who have been fed up with how the two factions have been running the party for years. 

“The leaders of the two factions have ignored meritorious people who keep working for the party for long. Now, the national leadership and the RSS have been convinced that there is an ignored layer of leadership in the party that needs to be brought to the front. The appointment of a person like Chandrasekhar who is above the ‘group equations’ is aimed at this,” a state leader told Onmanorama. He said though the party had attempted to quell factional feud by bringing in Kummanam Rajasekharan, a hardcore RSS worker, as the BJP state chief in 2015, the factions scuttled the plan.

A section of leaders, sharing the sentiment, had conveyed their grievances to the party national leadership as well as RSS. They also had consultations with Chandrasekhar, aimed at convincing him to take up the leadership role. The leader Onmanorama spoke to exuded confidence that Chandrasekhar would bring in a renewed system to run the organisation. 

Another BJP source said Chandrasekhar had sought more freedom from the national leadership to work in Kerala. He has been frequenting Thiruvananthapuram even after the electoral loss and keeping himself active in local politics, signalling that he has kept his eyes at the parliament seat. 

Sources said he has presented the national leadership with a realistic plan for what the party can achieve in the upcoming state polls.