The veteran leader also claimed that the saffron party would win from the Thiruvananthapuram constituency in the Lok Sabha polls.
O Rajagopal, Shashi Tharoor.
Hours after praising Congress MP Shashi Tharoor in his presence, BJP leader O Rajagopal clarified, on Monday evening, 8 January, that his words were misinterpreted.
The veteran leader also claimed on Monday that the saffron party would win from the Thiruvananthapuram constituency in the Lok Sabha polls.
Rajagopal, the former Union minister who lost to Tharoor in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections from Thiruvananthapuram, had at a function in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday evening said that the Congress MP’s ability to sway people’s minds was the reason for his repeated wins from the constituency.
Meanwhile, convener of the ruling LDF in Kerala, EP Jayarajan, on Tuesday, said that Rajagopal’s remarks praising Tharoor “indicate the beginning of a BJP-Congress unity in the state”.
“That is why he is able to win again and again from Thiruvananthapuram. I doubt anyone else will get an opportunity to win (from Thiruvananthapuram) in the near future,” he said, while speaking at the N Ramachandran Foundation award ceremony.
Rajagopal, the first-ever BJP MLA from the state after his win in the 2016 Assembly polls, also expressed pride that such a person — Tharoor — hails from Palakkad. The veteran BJP leader himself also hails from Palakkad.
His statement comes at a time when the BJP is trying to win a few key seats, including Thiruvananthapuram, from the state in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Following the lavish praise, as the veteran BJP leader left the podium, Tharoor went to him, touched his feet and hugged him.
However, hours later, in a late-night Facebook post, the veteran BJP leader said that his comments were in the context that Tharoor has won more than once from the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency.
Rajagopal, the first-ever BJP MLA from the state after his win in the 2016 Assembly polls, said in the changed political scenario coupled with the efficiency of the Narendra Modi government at the Centre, there was a possibility of the saffron party winning in the state capital if the party activists and members work hard.
He also said that Tharoor’s presence in the Lok Sabha constituency was only nominal and would adversely affect his prospects.
The veteran BJP leader said that what he said in his speech was a figurative expression of opinion and his personal and political stand was that “the BJP would win from Thiruvananthapuram this time” (upcoming Lok Sabha polls).
Jayarajan said Rajagopal’s remarks praising Tharoor “indicate the beginning of a BJP-Congress unity in the state”‘
Jayarajan said the veteran BJP leader’s speech at the event indicates that his party probably has no intention of competing against Tharoor or fielding a candidate from Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency.
“His (Rajagopal) statement has created anxiety in the people. His remarks praising Tharoor are a political problem. He made a statement announcing the victory of Shashi Tharoor even before the Lok Sabha polls began.
“This indicates the beginning of a BJP-Congress unity in Kerala,” the LDF convener told reporters in Kannur.
(With PTI inputs)
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