The concentrated efforts of the Bharatiya Janata Party and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in Kerala yielded a historic outcome on June 4, as the saffron brigade made its debut in the 18th Lok Sabha election.
Suresh Gopi, the action hero of Malayalam cinema turned BJP candidate, clinched a victory in the Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency with a margin of 74,686 votes. He emerged victorious in six out of the seven Thrissur assembly constituencies.
With 412,338 votes, Gopi surpassed Left Democratic Front (LDF) leader and former agriculture minister V.S. Sunil Kumar, who garnered 3,37,652 votes. The United Democratic Front (UDF) faced a major setback as its candidate and former Vadakara MP K. Muraleedharan, with 3,28,124 votes, was pushed to the third position. He could only lead in the Guruvayur assembly constituency.
In the 2019 election, Congress’s T.N. Prathapan won with 415,089 votes, comprising 39.83% of the total votes. Communist Party of India’s Rajaji Mathew Thomas came second with 321,456 votes (30.85%), while BJP’s Suresh Gopi secured the third place with 293,822 votes, or 28.19% of the 1,042,122 votes cast. This year, the LDF maintained their vote share in the constituency, while the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) gained at the expense of the UDF. The BJP increased their vote share by 9.16%, while the Indian National Congress lost 9.75%.
Addressing the media on June 5, Youth Congress leaders accused the District Congress Committee (DCC) president Jose Vallur and District Election Committee chairman T.N. Prathapan for opening the door for the Sangh parivar to enter Thrissur.
“I wouldn’t have been disappointed if the LDF had secured the victory. I have closed the BJP’s account in Nemom, but I couldn’t stop them from winning here,” said Muraleedharan.
Before the election, the UDF camp experienced numerous ups and downs. At first, Prathapan was suggested as the candidate for Thrissur, and the campaign for him was well underway. Muralidharan was assigned to Vadakara.
However, the Congress decided to replace him with Muraleedharan in a “strategic move”. This decision was seemingly influenced by the fact that Padmaja Venugopal – Muraleedharan’s sister – had defected to the BJP right before the elections.
In 2014, the BJP received a mere 4% of the votes in Thrissur. However, in 2019, with Gopi’s candidacy, the BJP’s vote share surged by 17%, reaching a total of 28.19%, despite him securing third place. Nonetheless, in the 2021 assembly elections, his candidacy led to a notable increase in the BJP’s vote share, rising to 31.3%.
Referring to his voters as ‘Praja Daivangal’ (subjects as powerful as gods), Gopi described this victory as a testament to their blessings. On one side, Suresh Gopi regards citizens as divine entities, while on the other, he diminishes their stature, casting them as mere subjects under a monarch. “I call the people of Thrissur Praja Daivangal. Their decision has blessed both my party and me. We all recognise Thrissur’s distinct demographic landscape, and if anyone views my victory as a miracle, it was a miracle bound to happen,” he said.
An alignment between reel-life roles and real-life campaigns
During his college days in the 1970s, he was a leader of the Students Federation of India (SFI), the students wing of the CPI(M). He participated in the Save Silent Valley movement, which opposed a proposed hydroelectric project in the tropical rainforest of Palakkad. Later in the 1990s, he developed close ties with the late chief minister K. Karunakaran of the Congress and his family.
However, according to director B. Unnikrishnan, who was quoted in a report by The News Minute, Gopi did not maintain a consistent political stance, swinging between supporting K. Karunakaran and V.S. Achuthanandan. The same report also mentions that there are also stories of him trying to join the CPI(M) in the early 2000s.
Gopi joined politics in 2016, right before the assembly elections, after the BJP offered him a Rajya Sabha seat. Since joining the BJP, he competed three times from Kerala’s cultural capital and played an important role in the party’s ‘Operation Thrissur’ campaign.
He has maintained a strong presence in the constituency, often visiting churches, temple priests, engaging in philanthropy, promoting himself as a benevolent crowned head.
In his real-life campaigns, he translated his reel-life roles into action. His portrayal of alpha male personas in films as angry but idealistic bureaucrats, policemen, and romanticized feudal lords was mirrored off-screen. Keeping the media close at every opportunity, he leveraged his stardom to promote his philanthropic activities. This alignment between his reel-life roles and his real-life campaigns garnered attention, leading to the emergence of numerous social media pages dedicated to showcasing his compassionate deeds and highlighting his commitment to societal welfare.
Suresh Gopi at a BJP rally in Kerala. Photo: Facebook/@ActorSureshGopi
Gopi’s performance history
According to PRS Legislative Research, Gopi’s performance history is below average. Over the past six years, he has raised only 23 questions, significantly lower than the average of 298. His attendance rate in the house stands at 74%, compared to the average of 79%. Moreover, out of the 23 questions raised, only a couple have addressed issues specific to Kerala.
In an interview with the Indian Express in 2018, Suresh Gopi revealed that he was personally selected by Narendra Modi. Back in 2014, when Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat, he invited Gopi for a meeting in Ahmedabad. The BJP was in search of a prominent face for Kerala at the time. “For a year before that, they had been sending feelers through various people to arrange a meeting,” Gopi mentioned.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s multiple visits to Thrissur underscored the BJP’s expectations from Gopi. At the BJP’s women’s conference, ‘Women Power with Modi,’ held in Thrissur on January 3, Modi subtly indicated Gopi’s candidacy.
In the 2019 elections, the female voter turnout in the constituency was significantly higher at 79.55% compared to 75.92% for male voters, and it also exceeded the state’s average female turnout of 78.78%.
However, Gopi during that time was facing a sexual harassment allegation after a journalist accused him of inappropriate behaviour during a media interaction in November 2023. Currently, he is under anticipatory bail granted by the Kerala high court in that case.
The BJP’s decision to announce Gopi’s candidacy in Thrissur through a women’s conference, attended by Modi, aimed to project him as a straightforward and trustworthy individual, particularly to the female electorate.
In 2024, Modi’s special fondness for Gopi became evident when he travelled to Guruvayur to attend Bhagya’s wedding. His presence at Gopi’s daughter’s wedding was particularly significant as he sought to connect with Hindu community by giving the bride’s hand to the groom.
In 2022, Gopi visited Thrissur’s Vadakkumnathan Temple during the Vishu festival, which is similar to other harvest celebrations like Pongal and Lohri. He gave Vishu kaineettam (older members of the family give money to children on Vishu, known as Vishu Kaineettam) to temple priests and devotees. The Cochin Devaswom Board prohibited priests from taking such money. He has also given money to the priests of Thiruvambady and Paramekkavu temples, in addition to the Vadakkumnathan temple. But these temples do not come under the Devaswom Board.
At the annual meeting of the Yogakshema Sabha, an association of Brahmins, in Thiruvananthapuram in 2017, he expressed his desire to be ‘reborn as a Brahmin’ and to eventually become the tantri (head priest) of the Sree Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala. In 2019, he also led several protests opposing the entry of women into the Sabarimala temple.
Gopi’s outreach to Christian voters
The constituency comprises 49% Hindus, 35% Christians, and 16% Muslim voters. Among Christians, Catholics hold the predominant influence.
The BJP organised the Sneha Yatra across Kerala during Easter 2023 in an effort to win over Christian voters. The initiative, which was carried out a month before violence broke out in Manipur, involved visiting churches, religious leaders, and Christian houses.
As the Lok Sabha elections approached, they resumed the yatra during Christmas. BJP state chief K. Surendran visited Cardinal George Alencherry, former head of the prominent Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, to convey Christmas greetings from Modi. Following the initial visits, M.T. Ramesh, general secretary of the BJP’s Kerala unit, stated that the political possibilities for the NDA have increased in the state.
Around the same time, Cardinal George Alanchery, then head of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, praised Modi, saying, “Christians do not feel insecure in India.” This statement drew criticism from various quarters.
Among the critics was Father Paul Thelakat, a senior priest and former spokesperson and chief editor of Light of Truth, the mouthpiece of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church. Father Thelakat called the Cardinal’s statement ‘unfortunate’, suggesting that it might only apply to Kerala. He remarked, “In states such as Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, and Karnataka, Christians feel insecure.”
However, as a result of the violence in Manipur, further criticisms emerged against the BJP from the Christian community in the constituency. The Archdiocese of the Syro-Malabar Church in Thrissur, Kerala, criticised the Union government, the BJP, Modi, and Suresh Gopi in its mouthpiece for their lack of concern regarding the Manipur violence.
The Archdiocese also condemned Gopi’s statement that “Kerala does not need to worry about Manipur and UP; there are men to handle this issue.” It questioned, “What were ‘these men’ doing when Manipur was burning? Do you have the courage to ask this question to Prime Minister Narendra Modi?”
Tensions rose between the BJP and Christians in the coastal areas, especially after fishermen protested against the Adani Group’s seaport project at Vizhinjam last year.
To address these criticisms and ease the friction with Christians, Gopi intensified his outreach to Christian voters. He increased his visits to churches and arranged meetings with religious leaders not only in Thrissur but across Kerala.
On January 15, Gopi, along with his wife and daughters, visited Our Lady of Lourdes Metropolitan Cathedral and donated a gold crown for Mother Mary in an effort to connect with the Christian community. During the election campaign, he was spotted singing Christian devotional songs, attending mass, and engaging in other related activities.
The Syro-Malabar Catholic Church-owned Shekinah TV also featured stories praising Gopi for his devotion for Mother Mary and his ‘secular’ outlook. They even released a video applauding him immediately after the results.
Increased vote share
The BJP is not only celebrating Gopi’s victory but also the NDA’s increased vote share of 19.39%, up from 15.64% five years ago. Specifically, the BJP alone secured a vote share of 16.83%, compared to 13.81% in 2019. Notably, in six Lok Sabha seats, the BJP received a vote share exceeding 20% in this election.
In Thiruvananthapuram, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar maintained a strong lead in the three urban assembly segments – Nemom, Vattiyoorkavu, and Kazhakkoottam – which predominantly consist of ‘upper’ caste Hindus. However, Tharoor’s support surged in the rural and coastal regions, leading to a decrease in Chandrasekhar’s advantage.
In Alappuzha, BJP candidate Sobha Surendran secured the third position, trailing behind AICC General Secretary (Organisation) K.C. Venugopal and CPI(M)’s A.M. Ariff. However, the party witnessed a significant increase in its vote share, rising from around 17% in 2019 to 28%. Notably, in the Alappuzha assembly seats of Haripad and Kayamkulam, Sobha garnered more votes than Ariff.
The BJP was able to improve its vote share in Attingal, where it fielded former Union minister V. Muraleedharan, from 24.8% to 31.6%, and in Alathur, where it was supported by T.N. Sarasu, from 21.4% to 24.3%.
Anusha Paul is a journalist based in Kerala.
