Surendran or Ramesh? Speculations rife as BJP set to announce name of Kerala state president

Thiruvananthapuram: Even as BJP’s central leadership is slated to announce the name of the Kerala state president on Monday, speculation is rife among party workers and supporters ahead of the much-awaited announcement. The announcement of the state president will be made on Monday based on the secret list of probables. The central leadership will receive the nomination papers from the leader who is being considered for the top post in the state. To avoid competition, it is likely that the nomination papers will be accepted from only one candidate.

Since nobody has received any confirmation from the central leadership, speculations have been doing rounds regarding the names under consideration. As of now, around six names have been actively discussed by party workers and supporters as possible candidates. The most keenly watched development would be whether the reigning president, K Surendran, would continue or if someone else would replace him.

A core committee meeting will be held on Sunday morning in Thiruvananthapuram. Since the decision on the state president is entirely up to the central leadership, state leaders have not yet received any indication about the decision. The announcement of the president will take place in Kerala on Monday.

Surendran became the president in February 2020. Supporters of Surendran believe that his performance as a successful state unit head would stand in good stead before the central leadership, as he had increased the party's vote share in the Lok Sabha elections and won the Thrissur Lok Sabha seat through Suresh Gopi. They believe that the central leadership would not opt for a new leader since the local body elections and assembly elections are around the corner. They also claim that he has the backing of the RSS.

However, leaders from the P.K. Krishnadas faction believe that M.T. Ramesh, a popular figure among the party cadres and the current general secretary, has a fairly good chance of becoming the state chief. If the central leadership decides to appoint a female president, the current vice president, Shobha Surendran, is considered a possibility.

Former Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who contested from Thiruvananthapuram in the last Lok Sabha elections, is another name on the list of potential candidates. Former president and Union Minister V. Muraleedharan’s name is also being discussed as a possible candidate.