After Palakkad bypoll debacle, differences in BJP out in the open

Central leadership puts to rest questions about a leadership change in Kerala as BJP councillors in Palakkad blame K. Surendran’s ‘flawed candidate selection’ for the defeat

The growing discontent within the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has spilled out with the defeat of the party candidate C. Krishnakumar in the Palakkad Assembly byelection. BJP’s Palakkad municipal chairperson Prameela Sasidharan blamed the defeat on party State president K. Surendran for his “flawed candidate selection”. 

Ms. Sasidharan said the party’s municipal councillors had expressed dissatisfaction with Mr. Krishnakumar’s candidature, but the leadership ignored their preferences. 

She said the 28 party councillors had no responsibility in the party’s trouncing. She denied allegations that the municipal governance had led to Mr. Krishnakumar’s rout. 

Despite their objections, she said the municipal councillors of the BJP worked unitedly for the party, but the people did not accept the candidate. “We know the pulse of the people. They wanted a different candidate,” she said. 

Deemed ‘winnable’

Had it been someone else, the defeat would not have been so crushing, she said. “Let the national leadership examine the reasons for the loss of votes for Mr. Krishnakumar,” she said. Palakkad was one of the nearly a dozen constituencies rated as ‘winnable’ by the BJP.

BJP national council member and municipal councillor N. Sivarajan, too, criticised Mr. Krishnakumar and P. Raghunath, BJP State vice president who was in-charge of the byelection, for the party’s defeat. He said Mr. Surendran alone was responsible for the defeat and demanded that Mr. Raghunath be replaced. 

Candidate’s stance

However, Mr. Krishnakumar said no councillor had worked against him and that the party did not lose its vote share in Palakkad municipality. 

Meanwhile, party State president K. Surendran sidestepped questions about his reported willingness to step down in the wake of the party’s debacle in Palakkad. “As the State president of the party, I have the moral responsibility for this defeat, though decisions are taken jointly by the leadership. All my actions will be audited. Whether or not I need to resign from the post has to be decided by the Central leadership. I will abide by their directions,” he told the media in Kozhikode.  

He refuted allegations that there were lapses in the candidate selection. Mr. Surendran said the candidate was chosen by the party’s parliamentary board consisting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and party president J.P. Nadda. The BJP would go into serious soul-searching and a booth-level analysis would be taken up, he said.  

Meanwhile, BJP Kerala in-charge Prakash Javadekar sought to put to rest questions about a leadership change in Kerala. “We will win Palakkad and many more Assembly seats in 2026. We are here to make a difference in Kerala politics. LDF and UDF are spreading rumours. Nobody is resigning neither party has sought anybody’s resignation. I think this will settle the matter (sic),” he posted on social media platform X.

Published - November 25, 2024 07:50 pm IST