The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Palakkad firmly believes that high achievements will take place in the framework of high expectations. The steady increase in the party’s vote-share in Palakkad over the past 25 years has inspirited the BJP to firm up a winning formula here.
Tuesday’s roadshow by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was part of the BJP’s all-out effort to get closer to a winning equation. What emboldens the BJP to dream of a victory is the steady upturn of the votes the party candidates won from 1989 to 2019.
From 3.7% vote share in 1989, the BJP has grown to 21.44% in 2019. BJP leaders here expect a minimum five percentage point growth in the party’s voteshare in the upcoming election.
In the 2019 elections, Congress’s winner V.K. Sreekandan had secured 39.17% votes when CPI(M)’s M.B. Rajesh got 38.03% votes. BJP candidate C. Krishnakumar’s 21.44% was the biggest ever for the party in Palakkad.
From 3.7% in 1989, the BJP vote share rose to 4.52% in 1991, 5.18% in 1996, 8.38% in 1998, 10.9% in 1999, and 18% in 2004. However, in the 2009 election, in which C.K. Padmanabhan contested from Palakkad, the BJP vote share plummeted from 18% to 8.71%. But the vote share rose again to 15% in 2014, and to 21.44% in 2019.
“Considering the administration of the BJP government led by Narendra Modi in the past five years, we are definitely going to garner a lot more votes in 2024,” said C. Krishnakumar, who is contesting again in Palakkad. He believes that he can make solid inroads into the votes of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Congress.
“Both the United Democratic Front and the Left Democratic Front have outmoded candidates. Both fronts are in disarray. The BJP is the only option for Palakkad,” said BJP State president K. Surendran. He said that the people of Palakkad greeted Mr. Modi with exceptional warmth. “Even Muslim women wearing scarves were seen enthusiastically welcoming the Prime Minister,” said Mr. Surendran.
