86-year-old O Rajagopals lone seat in the 140-seat assembly represents the BJP's debut in Kerala
Highlights
- The first-ever BJP lawmaker in Kerala is 86-year-old O Rajagopal
- His lone seat in the 140-seat assembly represents BJP's debut in Kerala
- Before this, Kerala never looked beyond the Left and the Congress
The first-ever BJP lawmaker in Kerala is O Rajagopal. He lost 15 elections before winning his first at the age of 86.
Having contested polls from the Panchayat to the Lok Sabha, Mr Rajagopal or Rajettan, as he is known by his supporters, is a familiar face in the state.
"It's not the first time. Abraham Lincoln contested several elections only to be defeated... before he finally became US President. We pursue because we have an aim," Mr Rajagopal told NDTV.
He did need some convincing this time. "I was tired and wanted to stop contesting elections but it was the party which requested me to continue," he said.
In 2014, Mr Rajagopal gave Congress's Shashi Tharoor a tough fight. Finally, he made it to the assembly after defeating CPM strongman and former legislator V Sivankutty.
A veteran of the Jan Sangh - an off-shoot of the BJP's ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS, Mr Rajagopal has been in the Rajya Sabha and also in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led government in the past.
In his long political career, his latest milestone is perhaps most significant. His lone seat in the 140-seat assembly represents the BJP's debut in Kerala, a state that has never looked beyond two parties, the Left and the Congress.
In the run-up to the polls, the blame-game over BJP-CPM violence in Kerala steadily escalated.
"I even went and met CM-designate Pinarayi Vijayan. Political violence will be a concern for even the ruling party and we will have to work at it together for the peace of the state. It's in their interest too.", Mr Rajagopal said.
His rivals aren't willing to give him credit for winning the election just yet.
"The BJP and CPM have been hand in glove. Wherever BJP has won, It's CPM's vote share that they have got," Congress lawmaker KC Joseph told NDTV.
"The BJP conducted a very strident communal campaign led by the PM (Narendra Modi) and the BJP president and it managed to enter Kerala assembly with one seat," Sitaram Yechury, CPM General Secretary had said just after the results last week.