By C K George
Thrissur, June 07 (IVC) It was the systematic ground work since 2019 , his grit and tenacity that he upheld with the hope to win the Lok Sabha elections at any cost from Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency in 2024 that led him to the victory with an unexpected majority of 74,686 vote.
Thrissur Lok Sabha Constituency consisted of 24.5 per cent Christian electorate and 15.97 per cent Muslim electorate who determined the success and failure of candidates.
The Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s three visits to Thrissur since January this year had been a booster to the victory.
The propaganda by his opponents that a section of Congressmen tipped up the heels of K Muraleedharan and there was hidden agenda for the CPM with BJP with a view to defeating CPI and snatch the seat from CPI were all baseless and lacked proof.
Noted Malayalam cine star , Suresh Gopi could not win the election in 2019 from Thrissur . But he secured 2,93, 822 votes and gave him the hope that if he had sufficient time for propaganda, he would have made a successful foray into the grass root level of the rank and file and won the election. In 2019, the nomination Suresh Gopi as BJP candidate from Thrissur was decided at the eleventh hour and lacked time for active electioneering.
In the assembly election in 2021 also he contested from Thrissur assembly segment , he was defeated by CPI leader . The victory of Suresh Gopi is considered as retaliation as the CPI leader Sunil Kumar was pushed to the second place the Congress leader K Muraleedharan to the third place also. Though Gopi could not win assembly election in 2012, he secured 40457 votes and winner’s margin was on 946 votes. Thus Gopi made it clear that is a force to be reckoned with.
In the assembly elections in 2016 in Thrissur, BJP candidate could score only 24,788 votes. Though Suresh Gopi was defeated in the Lok Sabha elections in 2019, he secured about three lakh votes which was strong warning to his opponents that BJP candidate could not rejected simply.
Though he was defeated in 2019, he maintained his close connection with the constituency and contested Assembly election in 2021 and secured a sizeable number of votes.
Suresh Gopi maintained close relation with the electorate in Thrissur, with a stern determination to win in 2024 and he continued to intervene earnestly with the affairs of the people of Thrissur with a grit to win the Lok Sabha election in 2024 and open the account in Parliament from Kerala, which was the long cherished wish of the BJP.
Gopi realized the umbrage of the electorate in Thrissur following the governance of the State either by UDF or LDF that the had no alternative .
Moreover Suresh Gopi effectively intervened in the Kruvannur Co-operative scam with the connivance of the ruling CPM and he made his best efforts to save innocent hard earned money which had deposited in the bank.
Suresh Gopi knew well that it was essential the support of the minority community especially Christians and he made all his efforts to earn their support and win the election in which he was successful. He offered a gold crown to the deity of Lourde Cathedral ( Madonna of Loude ) popularly known as Lourde Matha in the heart of the city .
To , if he won the elections. show his loyalty and piety towards Loude Matha, he promised ten lakh rupees in cash to the deity of the Loude Cathedral
It is learnt from the sources close to the newly elected Member of Parliament, the promised amount would be handed over to the Archbishop and President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) Mar Andrews Thazhath shortly after his return from New Delhi. In short Suresh Gopi’s persistent and systematic efforts for winning the eletions from Thrissur and his hard work that led to his victory with an impressive majority of about 75,000 votes. It was also the overconfidence of his opponents that BJP would not win from the Thrissur lok Sabha election also paved the way for his easy victory.
It is a good lesson for the unsuccessful politicians that they would not be frustrated and disappointed over defeat and they sincerely find out the reaons for their failure and continue their relations with the people of the constituency with a view to winning next time.