On June 9, 2024, as the Modi 3.0 government was set to swear in, Rajeev Chandrasekhar came up with a cryptic tweet: “Today, curtains down on my 18-year stint of public service, of which three years I had the privilege of serving with PM Narendra Modiji’s Team Modi 2.0. I certainly didn’t wish to end my 18 years of public service as a candidate who lost an election, but that’s how it has turned out”. The tweet was deleted after a day, and the amended version conveniently laid the blame for the confusion on an “intern”.
It was an emotional response, a mark of Chandrasekhar’s utter disappointment with not finding a place in Modi 3.0. It also signified how the ‘technocrat’ was not a run-of-the-mill politician who believed in rehearsed or curated responses.
Less than a year since then, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) high command has now sprung a surprise by naming Chandrasekhar as its new Kerala state president.
A Surprise Choice
By no means was Rajeev Chandrasekhar the frontrunner. Incumbent K. Surendran, who overstayed his term by two years, was tipped to get another year’s extension, until the assembly elections in the state in 2026. There were other contenders too, such as firebrand Sobha Surendran and veteran MT Ramesh. Even conventional wisdom suggested that social engineering compulsions would go against Chandrasekhar, a Nair hailing from Thrissur. With the two Malayalis in Modi’s third ministry being a Nair and a Syrian Christian—Suresh Gopi and George Kurian—an Ezhava/Hindu OBC candidate would’ve been the more practical option.
But the high command had enough reasons to pick Chandrasekhar. The BJP in Kerala is a divided house with multiple factions, and none of the frontrunners would have been able to function smoothly on account of internal dissension. Even K. Surendran’s five-year term was marred by friction with the PK Krishnadas-led faction, as well as his running feud with Sobha Surendran.
The BJP leadership reckons that Rajeev Chandrasekhar can carry all the factions together. He is not a natural politician, but the central leadership deems that this very characteristic will become Chandrasekhar’s USP. It is very much a repetition of the ‘K. Annamalai’ experiment in Tamil Nadu.
Acceptable To All
True, Chandrasekhar’s acceptability cuts across factions. But there are various other considerations at play. For all the gains it made elsewhere, the BJP has hardly had any electoral impact in Kerala, despite a steady rise in vote share. Even after faring reasonably well in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, cornering nearly 20% votes and Suresh Gopi’s win from Thrissur, it did badly in the Palakkad by-election last November.
That loss probably put paid to Surendran’s hopes to stay on until the assembly polls, as he had turned the issue into a battle of prestige. The central leadership also cannot quite understand why the BJP does so poorly in a state where the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has the second-largest network of shakhas (branches) in the country. For long, the RSS in Kerala had been deeply involved in the functioning of the state BJP, though the party’s ideological mentor has taken a backseat in recent times. This was meant to afford more autonomy to the state party president, but it ultimately culminated in RSS organising secretary K. Subash’s resignation, with the Sangh not naming a replacement in his stead for an extended period. Now, Rajeev Chandrasekhar’s appointment is likely to be followed by the RSS naming an organising secretary to assist the new president in his functioning.
The last time the high command named an out-of-the-box candidate as state president was in the run-up to the 2016 assembly polls, when veteran Sangh leader Kummanam Rajasekharan, whose hardliner image and association with the Nilakkal protests of 1982 had proved to be a baggage for the party in the past.
Courting The Middle-Class
The central leadership also believes that Chandrasekhar can cater to sections of Kerala’s aspirational middle class that are yearning for change and are unhappy with both the ruling Left government and the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF). Since Chandrasekhar doesn’t fit the mould of a regular politician, he may be able to connect better with this class and some increasingly ‘apolitical’ sections of voters that support, say, a Shashi Tharoor. In many ways in fact, it was the spirited contest that he put in against Tharoor in the Lok Sabha election in Thiruvananthapuram, despite being a late entrant, that may have propelled Chandrasekhar to the coveted position today. Giving a tough fight to Tharoor, a lot of people were left wondering whether Chandrasekhar could have emerged victorious had he been pencilled in sooner. “Ini Karyam Nadakkum” (‘Now things will move’) was Chandrasekhar’s campaign slogan.
A Long Journey
This may well be called Chandrasekhar’s second coming in Kerala politics. Contrary to what many may believe, the contest in Thiruvananthapuram wasn’t his initiation in state politics, even if he was based in Bengaluru until then. Much before that, he had been a key mediator for getting the Bharat Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS), affiliated to the Ezhava community outfit Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP), to join the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in 2016. That is when Chandrasekhar was named the NDA’s vice-chairman for Kerala, despite being a Rajya Sabha MP from Karnataka.
Now, he may be expected to act as a bridge to the Christian clergy and cater to their grievances. The Christian community in Kerala has traditionally stood with the Congress, although cracks have begun to appear in recent times. Chandrasekhar may be expected to utilise issues such as the controversy surrounding the Munambam suburb of Ernakulam, where some 600 LChristian and Hindu families are protesting against the Waqf Board’s claim over the area. Notably, Chandrasekhar was a key figure in getting veteran leader PC George to merge his splinter party with the BJP. Shone George, the latter’s son, is also expected to emerge as an important leader during Chandrasekhar’s term.
Media Man
It would also be remiss not to mention Chandrasekhar’s ownership of Asianet News, which has consistently topped BARC (Broadcast Audience Research Council) ratings for Malayalam news channels. He is the majority shareholder of the news channel through the holding company Jupiter Capital.
While some BJP leaders think that with the channel maintaining an independent editorial line Chandrasekhar’s business interests may backfire on him, that could be a thin reading of the situation. This view got amplified recently when he had to tweet an apology on account of the channel’s alleged slighting of the Maha Kumbh on a news show. The uber-enthusiastic coverage of Chandrasekhar’s appointment as state BJP president was also duly noted by its viewers, sparking discussions whether it portended a change of ideology.
However, being the sharp businessman he is, Chandrasekhar may well understand that getting the channel to adopt a pro-BJP line could be counterproductive until the political climate in the state turns in favour of the party. He can always choose to intervene whenever he deems fit. In any case, as a politician, owning a channel has its perks.
Crossing The Threshold
As state BJP president, Chandrasekhar will be expected to adopt a hands-on approach to organisational affairs. The three-time Rajya Sabha MP is known to be short-tempered and will have to be at his diplomatic best while dealing with veteran state leaders. He will also be expected not to resort to communal statements—as he has sometimes done in the past—and rise above them to make a difference.
On the other hand, the leader may also have to navigate the mistakes perpetuated by his predecessors. Malayalis, like any other populace, are a proud people. The ‘Kerala-bashing’ that state BJP leaders frequently resort to is one of the many reasons the party has failed to make much headway in the state.
Chandrasekhar has his task cut out: turn the BJP from an also-ran to a winning horse in Kerala. If the saffron party can manage to get a quarter of the total vote share—it’ll need to add just five more percentage points to its current tally—it will have established itself as a serious player in Kerala.
(Anand Kochukudy is a senior journalist and columnist)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author
