Bharatiya Janata Party State president K.Surendran has a daunting task ahead in helming a faction ridden organisation and a defunct National Democratic Alliance for two elections in the immediate future.
Taking forward the party as a cohesive whole, reviving the NDA and strengthening the organisational apparatus at all levels well ahead of the local body and Assembly elections would be the first challenge Mr. Surendran would have to grapple with on assuming office.
Since incumbent P.S.Sreedharan Pillai demitted office, the organisation had slipped into a dormant state and except in the capital, the party had not responded to any issue of political import.
Mr.Surendran who had been in the forefront of a series of agitations, will have to strain his nerve to reinvigorate the party machinery and make it responsive. That would be a tough challenge.
Aspirants were too many for the president’s post and they are unlikely to bury the hatchet and meekly yield to the leadership of the new president. They may at least raise a banner of revolt as a mark of protest, but unlike his predecessors, Mr.Surendran enjoys the patronage of Union Minister V.Muralidharan and also the national leadership that had been biding their time to gain a foothold in the State. The active presence of Mr.Muralidharan in the State and the change of guard in all districts, mainly Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur and Palakkad, perceived to be BJP strongholds are expected to work to the advantage of the new president. The presidents of all the 11 other districts have different group affiliations .
Reactivating the NDA would not be so easy. For, the Bharath Dharma Jana Sena that had to bear a split of late, will have to firm up its stance in continuing in the alliance.
No significant clout
Except for the Kerala Congress (P.C.Thomas) faction, none of the other allies wield any significant clout in the State.
Mr.Surendran will have to strive hard to improve the BJP tally in the local body and other elections. Whether he would be able to attain such feats within the available time is what remains to be seen.
