Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Union Minister O. Rajagopal has backtracked from his comments that were widely perceived as an endorsement for Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor’s electoral prospects in the constituency during the upcoming General elections.
Speaking at a presentation ceremony organised by the N. Ramachandran Foundation Award in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday evening, Mr. Rajagopal was effusive in his praise for the Congress leader who had defeated him in the 2014 Lok Sabha election.
Expressing pride that the three-time MP hailed from his native district Palakkad, the 94-year-old BJP leader said Mr. Tharoor has been able to win the hearts of the people of Thiruvananthapuram and that has enabled him to “win again and again” from the constituency. “I doubt if anyone else will get an opportunity to win in the near future,” he said.
Moved by the veteran leader’s praise, Mr. Tharoor touched his feet and hugged him.
The unreserved adulation for Mr. Tharoor was soon projected as a seal of approval by Mr. Rajagopal for a fourth consecutive victory from the constituency. His words were also interpreted as a bestowal of an invincibility tag for the Congress leader.
In a clarification issued on Facebook hours later, Mr. Rajagopal faulted the media for misconstruing his words that were merely a figurative expression of opinion from a person from Palakkad towards another.
While he only meant that Mr. Tharoor had won from Thiruvananthapuram more than once, he strongly believed that BJP could wrest the constituency if party workers toiled hard, considering the changing political scenario and the performance of the Narendra Modi government at the Centre, he said.
“Mr. Tharoor’s infrequent presence in the constituency is bound to adversely affect his prospects. My personal and political stance is that BJP will win Thiruvananthapuram,” he asserted.
Notwithstanding his explanation, Mr. Rajagopal’s speech has prompted the Left Democratic Front (LDF) to raise allegations of a political understanding between the Congress and BJP.
LDF convener and senior CPI (M) leader E.P. Jayarajan told a news channel that the BJP’s praise was an unintended admission of the unholy nexus that has allegedly existed between the rival parties in the State.
