• February 1, 2019

BJP trying to rope in Mohanlal for Thiruvananthapuram, confirms Rajagopal

THIRUVANTHAPURAM Feb 1: The Bharatiya Janata Party, which is keen to open its account in Kerala in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, is trying to persuade Malayalam superstar Mohanlal to contest from the high-profile Thiruvananthapuram constituency, a national TV channel reported quoting a senior party leader from the state.

BJP’s sole MLA from the state, O. Rajagopal, said that a section of the party leaders feels that a person like Mohanlal should be fielded in the polls, adding that the actor had shown a keen interest in public affairs.
“Although Mohanlal is sympathetic to our cause, he is not a party member. We are trying to persuade him, but I don’t know if he will accept or not,” Rajagopal was quoted as saying by NDTV.
Congress’s Shashi Tharoor is the sitting MP of Thiruvananthapuram.
The BJP hopes that the Sabarimala verdict of the Supreme Court and the ensuing protests across Kerala have given the party a major boost ahead of the elections.
The saffron party hopes to cash in on the situation by fielding high-profile candidates in constituencies where it has got considerable influence.
“To the best of my knowledge, no candidate has been finalised for any region,” Rajagopal said.
Mohanlal, who was awarded Padma Bhushan last week, enjoys a good rapport with several senior BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
His blogs praising various initiatives of the Modi government have raised several eyebrows with many raising questions over his political affiliation.
The actor, however, has recently ruled out any possibility of him contesting elections.