Thiruvananthapuram: The BJP camp claims that they would rise as an alternative force in Kerala. Despite exit polls predicting chances for the party to win only 0 - 3 seats, BJP state president Kummanam Rajasekharan says the high voting percentage shows the voters fed up with both the LDF and UDF were keen to see the emergence of a new force.
The BJP’s vote share has been steadily increasing over the years. It went up from 4.75% in the 2006 assembly elections to 6.03% in the 2011 polls. Similarly, it rose from 6.3% in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections to 10.3% in 2014. In the November 2015 civic polls, it rose to an all-time high of close to 14 percent.
Even if the BJP increases its vote share by a small margin, it would be a threat to both the fronts. With the support of its NDA ally Bharat Dharma Jana Sena, the party hopes to better its performance.
He alleged an unholy nexus between LDF and UDF to thwart chances of BJP. “The LDF failed miserably to tackle the onslaught of UDF in several constituencies. On May 19, BJP will show its might to those leaders who have been claiming that BJP will not demonstrate its strength in the Assembly polls,” he said.
BJP had also finished first in four assembly segments in Thiruvananthapuram and second in two in Kasaragod in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Even though NDA has fielded candidates in all the 140 constituencies, they are hoping to win three seats in Thiruvananthapuram, one each in Alappuzha and Palakkad and two each in Idukki and Kasaragod.
With a plethora of central BJP leaders camping in the state for weeks and pumping in resources, it would be a huge embarrassment for the state leadership if it doesn’t open its account.
