The BJP had so far never won an assembly or Lok Sabha seat in Kerala.
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When many of his party colleagues were trailing, Rajagopal, former Union Minister in the A B Vajpayee government, maintained a clear lead since the beginning itself.
Over the years, he also held several key posts in the BJP – he was All India Secretary, General Secretary, as well as the Vice President of the BJP.
As the RSS made a decision to defy Indira Gandhi’s infamous era of Emergency, he was at the forefront, leading protests in the state. He contested for a Lok Sabha seat from Thiruvananthapuram in 2014, only to lose again.
In a tete-a-tete to this newspaper on November 8, 2015, BJP district president S. Suresh had claimed that it would reflect in the assembly elections. Then a series of unsuccessful election runs till 2016. The historic victory is a sweet revenge for Rajagopal, as he had lost in the constituency in a photo finish to Sivankutty in the 2011 assembly polls.
He surprised political experts in Kerala by securing 2,28,052 votes from Thiruvananthapuram in 2004 Lok Sabha elections.
The 86-year-old party veteran, and two-time Rajya Sabha MP, has lost nine elections in the past-from several Lok Sabha elections since 1980 to a couple of bye-elections in last few years.
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The BJP, in combination with the newly formed Bharata Dharma |Jana Sena, was able to perform a good show in terms of vote share. In the twilight of his life, Rajagopal has finally entered the assembly in his home state. It is now apparent that Kerala has space for a third alternative and that the stage has been set for BJP to take off in the state.
