The decision, made in a meeting chaired by BJP observer Pralhad Joshi, will be formally announced on Monday at the state council meeting at the Uday Palace Convention Centre in Thiruvananthapuram. Meanwhile, Rajeev Chandrasekhar filed his nomination for the President post after his name was picked in the party meeting.
Published Mar 23, 2025 | 1:28 PM ⚊ Updated Mar 23, 2025 | 4:49 PM
Rajeev Chandrashekar. (X)
Synopsis: The BJP central leadership has picked former Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar as the new president of its Kerala unit, replacing K Surendran. Surendran, who led BJP Kerala since 2020, was credited with increasing the party’s vote share. Interestingly, Chandrasekhar filed his nomination for the post after he was already picked by the party.
The BJP central leadership has picked former Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar as the new president of its Kerala unit, replacing K Surendran, sources said on Sunday, 23 March.
The decision, made in a meeting chaired by BJP observer Pralhad Joshi, will be formally announced on Monday at the state council meeting at the Uday Palace Convention Centre in Thiruvananthapuram. Reports say it was former Union minister Prakash Javadekar who named Chandrasekhar to the post.
Interestingly, Chandrasekhar filed nomination officially for the post, hours after the party had already decided to make him the President of Kerala BJP.
Chandrasekhar (60), a former Rajya Sabha MP (2006-2024), has been a key BJP figure despite his recent Lok Sabha loss in Thiruvananthapuram.
His appointment follows discussions where others, including the saffron party’s state general secretary MT Ramesh and state vice-president Shobha Surendran, were also considered.
Surendran, who led BJP Kerala since 2020, was credited with increasing the party’s vote share and playing a crucial role in Suresh Gopi’s victory in the Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency.
Surendran told the media that the nomination scrutiny will take place at 4 pm on Sunday. He emphasised that the BJP is the only party in India that completes its reorganisation from the booth level to the state committee democratically and systematically at regular intervals.
He added that more details would be shared on Monday. However, he refrained from commenting on the new state chief.
Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly VD Satheesan stated that regardless of who assumes the position, the Congress’s battle is against ideology, not individuals.
Sources said the BJP central leadership has focused on Chandrasekhar, largely due to his commendable performance in the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha elections.
Chandrasekhar mounted a formidable challenge against Shashi Tharoor, narrowing Tharoor’s victory margin to just 16,077 votes, a significant drop from the 99,989, vote lead in 2019. His success stemmed in part from his ability to draw support from young voters, a demographic that had traditionally favoured Tharoor.
Reports suggest that while the BJP state leadership has been entangled in internal disputes and factional struggles, Chandrasekhar managed to garner backing from the BDJS and certain Christian groups. He also cultivated strong ties with the Nair Service Society (NSS) and Vaikunta Swami Dharma Pracharanasabha (VSDP), a Hindu Nadar party allied with the NDA in Thiruvananthapuram.
In Thiruvananthapuram, Hindu voters form the majority at 66.46 percent; Christians account for 19.1 percent and Muslims make up 13.72 percent of the electorate.
Chandrasekhar is expected to file his nomination by 3 pm on Sunday. Meanwhile, the BJP is also likely to announce a reshuffle in its general secretaries and core committee positions.
Chandrasekhar had been elected to the Rajya Sabha for three consecutive terms from Karnataka since 2006. He was appointed a Union Minister of State (MoS) in 2021. He was also the vice-chairman of the NDA in Kerala.
Chandrasekhar was born in 1964 in Ahmedabad to Malayali parents. His father was an Indian Air Force official.
He has a degree in electrical engineering from the Manipal Institute of Technology and a post-graduate degree in computer science from the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, the US.
In 1991, Chandrasekhar joined his father-in-law’s company, BPL Group. In 1994, he founded BPL Mobile.
In July 2005, he sold his 64 percent stake in BPL Communications to Essar Group. Chandrasekhar founded Jupiter Capital in 2005, which also owns the Asianet News channel.
In 2018, he entered into politics by becoming a Rajya Sabha member supported by the BJP.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil with inputs from Sreelakshmi Soman.)
