CPM-backed mayor in Kerala says BJP’s Suresh Gopi ‘fit to be MP’; Congress alleges ‘nexus’ between 2 parties

The comment comes at a time when Kerala’s ruling CPI(M) and Opposition Congress have been accusing each other of having an understanding with the BJP.

Reacting to the mayor’s comments, K Muraleedharan, the Congress candidate from Thrissur, said it revealed the “nexus” between the CPI(M) and the BJP.

“The words of Mayor Varghese revealed the mind of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. There is a clear undercurrent between CPI(M) and BJP in Thrissur. Sunil Kumar, who is contesting for the Left, should explain why he is contesting under the banner of the LDF (Left Democratic Front, the ruling alliance in the state). If Left voters are keen to defeat BJP, they should come out in support of Congress,” he said.

Thrissur is witnessing a triangular contest this time. The BJP has fielded Suresh Gopi, and the LDF has fielded former minister V S Sunil Kumar, a CPI leader. After late Congress veteran K Karunakaran’s daughter Padmaja Venugopal joined the BJP last month, the Congress also upped the ante by fielding her brother, Muraleedharan – currently the MP from Vadakara – as its candidate from Thrissur.

All seats in Kerala go to the polls on April 26 – in the second phase of the Lok Sabha election.

Varghese, who had contested as a Congress rebel candidate in the local body elections of 2020 and later moved to the LDF fold, sought to correct his statement after it caused an uproar. “All three candidates are fit (to be Thrissur MP),” he said later in the day.