Could 2024 Be BJP's Year In Kerala? Five Key Seats To Watch

2024 could be the year in which the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) creates history in Kerala by winning its first Lok Sabha seat from the state. The exit polls have predicted that the party is in contention to win a few seats.

Here are some of the constituencies where the BJP has a shot at victory.

Thrissur

Famous Malayalam film actor Suresh Gopi is taking on K Muraleedharan of the Congress and V S Sunil Kumar of the CPI here. Gopi is the BJP’s best bet to open its account in a state from where it has never won an MP seat.

There is considerable unhappiness with the Left in the constituency due to the Karuvannur cooperative bank scam. 

Thiruvananthapuram

The seat is witnessing a clash of two heavyweights — Shashi Tharoor of the Congress and Rajeev Chandrasekhar of the BJP. While Tharoor is seeking re-election for the fourth time, this is the first time Chandrasekhar is contesting a Lok Sabha election.

The BJP had come close to winning the seat in 2014, when its candidate, O Rajagopal got just 1.77 per cent less votes than the Congress.

There is a tripolar contest in the constituency, with all three candidates — Anto Antony of the Congress, Thomas Isaac of the CPI(M) and Anil Antony of the BJP having a good chance of winning.

Contesting after the protests over the Sabarimala issue (the shrine is located in this constituency), the BJP candidate in 2019, K Surendran, secured a vote share of 28 per cent, which was a significant increase compared to 2014. 

Attingal

A seat adjacent to Thiruvananthapuram, it is seeing a contest between the Union Minister V Muraleedharan of the BJP, Adoor Prakash of the Congress and V Joy of the CPI(M). 

The BJP had done well in 2019 by securing around 24 per cent of the votes. Sobha Surendran, who is the candidate from Alappuzha this time, had contested from this constituency that year.

Alappuzha

Sobha Surendran of the BJP is expected to put up a tough fight here. The seat is significant as it was the only one won by the LDF in 2019, while the UDF won the rest of the 19 seats in the state.