The nation is currently eagerly waiting for the Lok Sabha elections. While the pre-poll surveys have shown a clean sweep for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP, some of the southern states have an unbalanced opinion regarding the government and their claim to power in these states.
Kerala has been one of the states which the BJP has been trying to conquer, but all in vain. However, a Manorama-Karvy opinion poll has predicted a seat for BJP in the upcoming polls.
The survey has predicted a near-sweep for Congress led-UDF in most of the seats. The UDF has a definite claim on 13 seats which can even go up to 15.
According to the polls, the Communist-led-LDF only has a sure stake on three seats which are Palakkad, Attingal and Alappuzha. The poll suggests that most LDF can pocket is four seats.
But the political twist lies in Thiruvananthapuram, where the polls have made a historical prediction for the BJP. It is one of the four constituencies in which the opinion polls were unable to rest on a specific winner for the upcoming poll race along with Chalakkudy, Vadakara and Mavelikkara.
Even though BJP had a rough time in the state capital during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, they have improved a lot. Thiruvananthapuram constituency has a total of 13.34 lakh voters.
In 2014, BJP's senior and popular leader O Rajagopal had lost to Shashi Tharoor, Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram, by a margin of 15,470 votes. What separated Tharoor and Rajagopal during the 2014 polls was 1.78 per cent of the total votes. Even though the margin is smaller at 1 per cent this time, the survey has favoured the BJP.
This time, BJP is fielding former Mizoram Governor and party leader Kummanam Rajashekharan for the prestigious constituency.
Why BJP is favoured this time?
The sole factor behind the BJP surge in the state capital is the 'Sabarimala' issue. Shashi Tharoor is in a tight spot with the Nair Service Society (NSS) over his opinion on women's entry into the temple.
Tharoor had supported the ban on women's entry in the temple calling it a religious practice. This had created quite a stir in Thiruvananthapuram and among the NSS, who used to back Congress. The Sabarimala issue has more importance in the state capital compared to others as no other constituency feels that Sabarimala is the most important issue.
Kummanam Rajashekharan is also an important part as his connections with various community leaders can also boost BJP's image in the capital.
