Amid fund row, Kerala BJP begins Lok Sabha poll push with present, former chiefs in key roles

Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala: After getting the go-ahead from the top brass, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has begun preparations for the next Lok Sabha elections by assigning leaders to constituencies it considers to have strong electoral prospects.

State BJP president and MLA Rajeev Chandrasekhar has been assigned responsibility for the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency, while former state president K. Surendran will oversee Attingal. BJP state general secretary Anoop Antony has been given charge of Pathanamthitta.

In Kollam, MLA B.B. Gopakumar is considered a likely choice, while Union Minister Suresh Gopi is expected to take charge of Thrissur.

The party may consider a role for V. Muraleedharan at the national level during the upcoming organisational restructuring if he does not contest the elections.

Anoop Antony, who finished second in the Thiruvalla Assembly constituency in the last Assembly elections, has been shifted to focus on Pathanamthitta. He has been relieved of his responsibilities as the BJP Yuva Morcha in-charge to concentrate on election-related work. Following a directive that the Yuva Morcha in-charge should be based in Thiruvananthapuram, state vice-president P. Sudheer has been entrusted with the role.

The BJP has also begun regional meetings to discuss election strategy. A meeting of the party's general secretaries and vice-presidents is scheduled for Wednesday.

The organisational changes come despite allegations of irregularities in election expenditure, which the party has dismissed.

Responding to recent reports, Rajeev Chandrasekhar said the BJP had taken note of what he described as "organised attacks" by sections of the media.

"Just want to remind that, if baseless and fabricated stories are presented as news, the people of Kerala will reject them," he said.