The BJP will field its top leaders in the State, including O. Rajagopal and C.K. Padmanabhan, in the coming Lok Sabha elections. BJP State president V. Muraleedharan said here on Saturday that the party would field candidates in all 20 Parliament constituencies and that all top leaders would be in the fray.
Addressing a meet-the-press organised by the Malappuram Press Club, Mr. Muraleedharan said that the possible polarization of votes against BJP’s prime minister candidate Narendra Modi would help the party indirectly.
“There will be Congress workers asking themselves whether to continue supporting the Muslim League’s nepotistic activities. There will be a counter polarization in favour of the BJP,” he said, adding that the Modi factor might work in the State.
He said that the catapulting of Mr. Modi onto the party’s national campaign had given a fillip to the morale and confidence of BJP workers. The party will declare its candidates soon after or before the visit of Mr. Modi to Kerala on February 9, he said.
He said that the Congress and the CPI(M) had reached a secret agreement. “The Congress’s failure to go in for appeal against the exoneration of CPI(M) State secretary Pinarayi Vijayan in the Lavalin case and the CPI(M)’s failure as a strong Opposition indicated this nexus,” he said.
He said that the State government was protecting the corrupt and the greedy.
The rally to be taken out in Thiruvananthapuram on February 9 in connection with Mr. Modi’s visit will be the biggest of the season by the BJP, he said. BJP workers from all the 21,000 polling booths from across the State will have representation in the rally, he said.
The BJP will hold its Parliamentary conventions in all constituencies between January 21 and 31. The first one will take place at Thiruvananthapuram on January 21. The convention of Ponnani constituency will be held at Valanchery on January 29 and that of Malappuram at Town Hall here on January 31.
He said that no BJP votes would be traded in the State. “But we may lose votes where our candidates are weak,” he said.
