3 min readMay 28, 2026 07:27 PM IST
First published on: May 28, 2026 at 07:24 PM IST
BJP legislator B B Gopakumar has been appointed leader of its legislative party in the Kerala Assembly.
Gopakumar emerged as the party’s choice despite the presence of two other heavyweights — Rajeev Chandrasekhar and V Muraleedharan, both former Union ministers and MLAs. The party won three seats in the recent assembly polls.
Though over two weeks had passed since the results were declared and the Assembly had elected the Speaker in the interim, the BJP had not announced its legislative party leader. The declaration came on Wednesday, with the Assembly set to begin its session on Friday with the Governor’s address.
“My selection has surprised me. I came to know only when Chandrasekhar, who is also the state president of the party, informed me. I will be the voice of the BJP in Kerala in the Assembly. It is a big honour for me,” he said.
Gopakumar, who won the LDF stronghold of Chathannoor in the recent Assembly elections, is among the dark horses of the 2026 Kerala polls. Last week, he had also contested as the BJP’s Speaker candidate. A retired school headmaster and a prominent face of the Hindu Ezhava community in the constituency, Gopakumar joined the BJP a decade ago through the party’s missed-call membership drive.
Chathannoor, held by the CPI since 2006, was among the seats where RSS workers quietly did the groundwork, leading to Gopakumar’s unexpected victory.
A former Congress worker, Gopakumar contested the 2016 election from Chathannoor, when the BJP secured only 24.92 percent vote share. Contesting again in 2021, he raised the party’s vote share to 30.61 percent. In 2026, Gopakumar defeated CPI’s R Rajendran while securing 38.54 percent of the vote.
Gopakumar said the Chathannoor model could be replicated in all Kerala seats where the BJP has high stakes in both Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.
BJP sources said Gopakumar’s elevation should be seen as a sign of the RSS’s growing influence in party affairs. Gopakumar was fielded in 2016 with RSS backing, and the organisation played a crucial role in his campaign during the recent Assembly elections. The RSS wanted to recognise a leader who rose through the ranks, sources said.
Gopakumar, who won the LDF stronghold of Chathannoor in the recent Assembly elections, is among the dark horses of the 2026 Kerala polls. (Photo AI enhanced) 
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