Trouble brews in Kerala BJP over Palakkad bypoll loss, Surendran takes responsibility

Thiruvananthapuram/Kozhikode, Nov 25 (PTI) A significant loss in the BJP's vote share in the recent by-election in Palakkad Assembly triggered strong reactions on Monday from the local leaders, who raised questions on the selection of the candidate and criticised the state party president, K Surendran, who was, however, backed by the national leadership.

Veteran leaders, including N Sivarajan, a BJP national council member, publicly criticised Surendran, the candidate C Krishnakumar, and election in-charge P Raghunath over the vote loss.

They also urged the party leadership to investigate whether there were shortcomings in the candidate selection process in Palakkad, where the party has a strong presence in the state.

Amid mounting criticism, Surendran held a press conference in Kozhikode and said he takes moral responsibility for the setbacks.

"If there was any mistake on my side, it should be audited. It will be audited. There will be no obstacle from my side in this regard," he said.

Meanwhile, rejecting the reports that Surendran had expressed willingness to quit taking moral responsibility for the defeat in Palakkad, the Central BJP accused the CPI(M)-led LDF and the Congress-led UDF of "spreading rumours." Although Surendran did not directly refute media reports suggesting his willingness to step down as state president of the party, the BJP's national leadership firmly supported the Kerala unit and its chief, asserting that they had mounted a "good fight" in the recent by-elections.

"Nobody is resigning and neither (the) party has sought anybody's resignation. I think this will settle the matter," senior BJP leader and party's Kerala in-charge, Prakash Javadekar, said in a post on 'X', backing Surendran.

Youth Congress state president Rahul Mamkootathil won the Palakkad seat with a margin of over 18,000 votes, even making inroads into BJP stronghold areas, delivering a shock to the saffron party, which had been hoping to emerge victorious in the seat after finishing second in the past few elections.

Adding to the BJP's woes, the Left improved its performance in the seat, narrowing the vote margin gap with the party.

"BJP has given a good fight in recently concluded by-elections in Kerala and got a massive mandate in Maharashtra. We will win Palakkad and many more assembly seats in 2026. We are here to make a difference in Kerala politics. People are looking up to BJP," Javadekar said.

The senior leader claimed more than 15 lakh people have voluntarily become members of the BJP, by giving missed calls and full information.

"Our membership drive will continue vigorously," Javadekar said in the post.

Surendran's critics within the party allege he unilaterally decided to field Krishnakumar, his preferred candidate, for the Palakkad seat.

As veteran leaders like Sivarajan, publicly criticised the state leadership over the vote loss, Surendran said that although an election is faced collectively by the party, as the person who leads the team, the state president has moral responsibility for the setbacks, and no one else holds responsibility for it.

Surendran said individual likes and dislikes have no relevance in such matters and it is upto the central leadership to decide whether he should complete his tenure or quit.

"I will accept any decision being taken by the central leadership," he said as a reply to a question.

Surendran said, as state president, he has primary responsibility for the selection of candidates, campaigning, and the subsequent results in all three constituencies--Wayanad Lok Sabha seat, Palakkad, and Chelakkara Assembly segments--in the recent bypolls.

Downplaying the significant vote loss and debacle in the Palakkad segment, the BJP state chief said there was a decrease of 4,000 votes compared to the previous assembly election, and this would be examined.

He, however, admitted that the bypoll candidate Krishnakumar was unable to garner all the non-party votes that Metroman E Sreedharan had secured in the 2021 assembly polls.

The leader also rejected the allegations regarding Krishnakumar's candidature and made it clear that it was a collective decision of the party leadership.

Before the candidate's announcement, some senior leaders had publicly advocated for the candidature of firebrand party leader Sobha Surendran.

In protest against Krishnakumar's candidature, BJP's popular television face Sandeep G Varier resigned and joined the Congress just ahead of the by-poll, delivering a significant blow to the saffron camp.

In the by-poll, BJP's Krishnakumar secured 39,549 votes (28.63 per cent), while Congress candidate Mamkootathil won with 58,389 votes (42.27 per cent). CPI(M)-backed P Sarin garnered 37,293 votes (27 per cent).

In the 2021 Assembly polls, Congress leader Shafi Parambil who polled 54,079 votes defeated 'Metroman' Sreedharan, the BJP candidate who received 50,220 votes. LDF candidate C P Promod had then finished third with 36,433 votes.

The present by-election was necessitated by the resignation of Congress' Parambil, who vacated the seat after being elected to the Lok Sabha from Vadakara in the general election this year.

Besides Palakkad, by-poll was held to the Chelakkara Assembly segment, which was retained by the ruling CPI(M)-led LDF, while Congress' Priyanka Gandhi Vadra won the Wayanad Lok Sabha by-election. BJP came third in both seats. PTI