Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Can Rajeev Chandrasekhar beat 3-time winner Shashi Tharoor in Thiruvananthapuram?

Fielding a newbie against a alternatively fashionable and people-elect Shashi Tharoor, who has amassed a loyal basal implicit the years, is thing abbreviated of a gamble the BJP has played portion aiming to summation a foothold successful Kerala.

That brings america to the question: Does tech-savvy BJP campaigner Rajeev Chandrasekhar basal a accidental against three-time MP Shashi Tharoor successful Thiruvananthapuram? Let's look astatine however Thiruvananthapuram has voted successful the past 3 Lok Sabha elections.

THE STORY OF PAST ELECTIONS IN THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

The parliamentary constituency has switched betwixt the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Congress since 1977 but Shashi Tharoor has travel a agelong mode since helium archetypal won the Thiruvananthapuram constituency successful 2009. Despite the said “Modi wave", turning fates of galore large leaders successful the country, the interaction has been slightest disposable successful Thiruvananthapuram.

The Lok Sabha constituency has consistently seen an upward inclination successful elector turnout during the 2009, 2014, and 2019 elections. In 2009, the elector turnout was 65.74 per cent; successful 2014, the turnout accrued to 68.63 per cent and successful 2019, the elector turnout was recorded astatine 73.45 per cent.

Even though the BJP candidates couldn't unseat Shashi Tharoor successful past 2 elections, the ballot stock bespeak that they were neck-and-neck with the Congress person successful the past 2 elections.

HOW THIRUVANANTHAPURAM VOTED IN PAST THREE ELECTIONS

2009 Lok Sabha elections: Thiruvananthapuram saw a three-cornered contention betwixt Congress' Shashi Tharoor, who was contesting for the archetypal clip from the seat, CPI's P Ramachandran Nair, BSP's A Neelalohithadasan Nadar. Shashi Tharoor won the spot with 326,725 (44.29 per cent votes) defeating CPI's P Ramachandran Nair with a borderline of 99,998 votes. The CPI campaigner won 226,727 (30.74 per cent votes). The BJP was acold down winning 84,094 votes.

2014 Lok Sabha elections: As India rallied down Narendra Modi's “abki baar Modi sarkaar", BJP, too, precocious 2 steps connected the Thiruvananthapuram seat, narrowing the spread successful the contention with Shashi Tharoor. The BJP accrued its ballot stock by 20.92 per cent from the 2009 elections arsenic Shashi Tharoor's ballot stock dropped by 10.20 per cent. In a choky race, Shashi Tharoor won 297,806 votes successful 2014 elections, BJP's seasoned O Rajagopal won 2,82,336 votes. The borderline of votes was lone 15,470.

2019 Lok Sabha elections: Shashi Tharoor was yet again enthroned connected the Thiruvananthapuram spot with a larger ballot borderline of 99,989. BJP's Kummanam Rajasekharan was pitted against Shashi Tharoor. The saffron party's full ballot stock decreased by 1.02 per cent, portion Congress' accrued by 7.10 per cent.

"It's not a astonishment that they person turned retired to beryllium a beardown player. The Communist run has been lacklustre...whereas the BJP has moved into the 2nd presumption successful this constituency," Shashi Tharoor has said.

In Lok Sabha elections 2024, Shashi Tharoor is looking to clasp the enactment of his loyal base. While the BJP, buoyed by its show implicit the years, is eyeing to wrest powerfulness from the Congress, placing each its hopes connected Rajeev Chandrasekhar who has ne'er contested the Lok Sabha elections before.

THE NAIR VS NAIR FACTOR

The Nair community, the 2nd largest Hindu assemblage successful Kerala, accounts for astir 14 per cent of the authorities population. It's outfit, the Nair Service Society (NSS) wide secretary, Sukumaran Nair, had mocked Shashi Tharoor by calling him a “Delhi Nair" erstwhile helium archetypal entered the fray successful Thiruvananthapuram, has present overturned his sentiment of him.

“I regret calling him a Delhi Nair erstwhile helium came to contention the Lok Sabha polls successful 2009. He is not a Delhi Nair. He is simply a lad of Kerala and a planetary citizen," helium was quoted arsenic saying by Onmanorama.

His hostile Rajeev Chandrasekhar is besides a Nair but has ne'er lived successful the state. Shashi Tharoor, too, was a newbie erstwhile helium was launched into Thiruvananthapuram successful 2009 by the Congress leadership.

‘PULSE IS CLEAR, PEOPLE ARE FED UP’: CHANDRASEKHAR

With eyes connected the confederate state, the BJP has not near a chromatic unturned implicit past fewer years to found the interaction with the people. Time and again, the halfway of attacks connected the Kerala authorities and the Congress has varied from implementation of the CAA, the alleged beingness of “love jihad" to the controversies surrounding ‘The Kerala Story’.

Unperturbed by Shashi Tharoor's popularity, Rajeev Chandrasekhar believes the temper of the Lok Sabha constituency is successful his favour.

"The pulse is wide to me. People are fed up with nary progress, nary jobs, and nary development. Youth are progressively frustrated astir the precocious unemployment rate, and everybody wants immoderate change. People privation to perceive however an MP, a party, oregon a person tin alteration and amended their lives. That is precisely what my connection is. I deliberation the radical of Thiruvananthapuram privation the same," Chandrasekhar said.

When the BJP campaigner was asked astir Shashi Tharoor, Chandrasekhar said helium doesn't privation immoderate certificates from a idiosyncratic “who has not done immoderate enactment for 15 years".

"If helium thinks being an MP means doing nary work, that is his mentation of his job. My mentation is that, arsenic a responsible, responsive and empathetic MP, erstwhile I spot immoderate problems, I effort to lick them. He believes successful penning letters erstwhile helium sees problems," helium said.

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Published: 26 Apr 2024, 06:04 AM IST