Thiruvananthapuram: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday formally announced that former MP and Union Minister of State Rajeev Chandrasekhar has been appointed as the president of the party's Kerala unit. Former state president K Surendran handed over the party flag to Chandrasekhar at an event in the state capital.

"There was an impression that Kerala was a Bali Kera Mala (a mountain that even Bali, the strong monkey king of Kishkindha in Ramayana, couldn't climb) for BJP. But the last 10 years have proved that we are a voice that cannot be ignored," K Surendran said. He added that the CPM state meet had extensively discussed BJP’s growth in Kerala.

"There is an ideological shift in Kerala. This will lay a strong foundation for Rajeev Chandrasekhar. I am confident that he is fully capable of handling the party’s day-to-day affairs," he added.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar thanked the party's central and state leadership for trusting him with the role. "The party has given me the role of state president following three months of democratic process. I want to thank BJP's central leaders, state leaders and K Surendran on this occasion," he said.

Chandrasekhar stated that his primary focus would be on driving development in the state. He also took the opportunity to criticise the state government and its economic policies, highlighting the growing public debt in Kerala. "My responsibility is to bring the BJP to power in Kerala, to create a 'viksit Kerala'," he added.

After BJP’s central leadership proposed Chandrasekhar’s name on Sunday, a contest was ruled out. He submitted his nomination at the BJP state committee office on the same day, filing two sets of nomination papers at the party’s headquarters in the state capital.

The election notification was issued on Saturday by the party’s state returning officer, Narayanan Namboodiri. There had been speculation that BJP might waive the five-year tenure condition to grant K Surendran another term, given the upcoming local body and assembly elections. Senior leaders MT Ramesh and Sobha Surendran were also considered contenders for the post.

BJP’s decision to field Rajeev Chandrasekhar against Shashi Tharoor in Thiruvananthapuram during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections nearly resulted in an upset. Although Chandrasekhar lost by 16,077 votes, he significantly increased BJP’s vote share in the constituency to 35.52 per cent, surpassing O Rajagopal’s 32.32 per cent.

The party believes Chandrasekhar’s appeal among young voters and his pro-development image could strengthen BJP’s prospects in the upcoming local body elections.