Ending a spell of mystery and uncertainty over candidate selection, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national leadership has named State general secretary K. Surendran for the Pathanamthitta Lok Sabha segment.
The delay in announcement had caused much embarrassment to the cadre which aired apprehensions about the winning prospects of the party that was expecting to romp home successfully without much effort, post Sabarimala verdict.
While the BJP State unit dubbed the delay as a mere technicality, the pressure put in by caste and community outfits is understood to have prompted the central leadership to weigh different options and put the decision on hold on the final announcement.
Almost all other major aspirants for the Pathanmthitta segment, except State president P.S. Sreedharan Pillai and K. Surendran, had opted out of the race once the first list was released. The claims staked by certain BJP leaders of enjoying the support of the Nair Service Society (NSS) fell flat with the leadership vocierfously reiterating its resolve to stick to the equidistant policy. Still, its opposition to the Left Democratic Front (LDF) has been quite evident too.
The truant stance of the Bharath Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS) in fielding its leader Thushar Vellappally from Thrissur had also put the BJP leadership in a bind. The BJP is keen on having Mr. Thushar as candidate to create a public image that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is still in tact. It also aimed to put Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam leadership that had of late drifted to the LDF under pressure or at least to coerce it to maintain a neutral stance.
The campaign launched by a section of party workers of Pathanamthitta for Mr. Surendran’s candidature and targeting Mr. Pillai on the social media is understood to have seriously annoyed the national leadership, which had received complaints from the State too.
Mr. Thushar’s assertion that the seat allocation had been completed and each party would decide its candidate virtually went against the pact reportedly struck between him and the BJP to contest from Thrissur. Though projected as one of the four seats where the BJP pins high hopes, the winning prospects are not so bright. Which means, the BJP leadership would have to make amends if he suffers a defeat at the hustings.
Even if the BJP leadership makes a ‘firm’ offer, the BDJS, that remains smitten by its endless wait for posts offered by the former during the past five years, would insist on clinching the deal only against firm assurances. Whether a cadre party like the BJP will buckle under such pressure is what remains to be seen.