BJP weighs high profile options for Palakkad

Malayalam actor Unni Mukundan is being projected as a potential Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate in Palakkad. Party sources said a recent survey conducted by a professional agency to assess the BJP’s electoral prospects and candidate options across constituencies identified Mr. Mukundan as having a stronger winning potential in Palakkad than any other party leader.

However, the BJP leadership is yet to secure Mr. Mukundan’s consent. There are also differing views within the party on fielding a high-profile outsider, a move that could dampen the aspirations of local leaders in Palakkad. Despite the internal debate, winning the Palakkad Assembly constituency remains a key objective of the BJP.

The BJP had come close to winning Palakkad in the 2021 Assembly elections when veteran technocrat E. Sreedharan contested against Congress’s Shafi Parambil. Mr. Sreedharan narrowly lost by a margin of 3,859 votes. According to the BJP, it was the party’s closest-ever opportunity to capture Palakkad, which comprises Palakkad municipality and the panchayats of Kannadi, Pirayiri and Mathur.

The name of BJP’s former State president K. Surendran is also doing the rounds as a potential candidate capable of springing a surprise in Palakkad. The professional agency that assessed the party’s electoral prospects has reportedly accorded significant weight to Mr. Surendran’s candidature.

Sobha Surendran, another prominent leader seen as capable of energising the party’s base in Palakkad, is learnt to have expressed reluctance to contest from the constituency. It was Ms. Surendran who had propelled the BJP to the second position in Palakkad for the first time in the 2016 Assembly elections by securing 29.08% of the votes, pushing the Left Democratic Front (LDF) to third place. Since 2016, the BJP has maintained a consistent second-place finish in all three Assembly elections, including the 2024 byelection.

Meanwhile, Mr. Surendran (former BJP president) has sought to distance himself from speculations linking him to the upcoming elections. He said he had not expressed interest in contesting from any constituency. In a social media post, Mr. Surendran voiced his disappointment at having lost several elections despite coming close to victory. He pointed out that he had contested only in constituencies allotted by the BJP and urged people to refrain from spreading rumours about his future electoral plans.