While the BJP national is exultant at the exit poll results that showed the party storming its way back to power, it looks like Kerala BJP President PS Sreedharan Pillai is unhappy with the exit polls. All exit polls have predicted that the party is likely to open an account in the state, albeit one or two seats. But Sreedharan Pillai, who has in the past said that the Sabarimala controversy was an 'opportunity for the BJP', clearly expects more victories. According to him, if the exit polls for the state are true, it is reflective of its people’s political ignorance.
Two days after the exit polls were announced on Sunday, Sreedharan Pillai, while addressing the media in Kozhikode, said, “If things go according to exit polls, Kerala has turned into a state, where its people lack political awareness.”
The state party president also recalled that since the General Elections in 1977, people in Kerala have been voting against the mood of the nation. If this trend continued this election, that is in favour of the Congress or the Left, he thinks Kerala is not a politically aware state.
Sreedharan Pillai exuded confidence when he stated that the BJP, which has not yet won a Lok Sabha seat in Kerala, will have a representation in the state and that it will receive 17% vote share.
As per the predictions of six out of eight exit polls by English channels along with agencies, the BJP is likely to win one to two seats in the state. According to one out of two exit polls by Malayalam channels, the NDA is likely to represent the state in the Parliament by winning the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat.
Former Mizoram Governor and Kerala’s former BJP president Kummanam Rajasekharan is NDA’s candidate in Thiruvananthapuram constituency. He is pitted against Congress’s heavyweight and two-time Member of Parliament (MP) from the constituency, Shashi Tharoor.
Sreedharan Pillai expressed his disappointment over the poll predictions that the BJP will win only in Thiruvananthapuram. The two exit polls by Malayalam channels said that Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) will retain Pathanamthitta, a constituency that the BJP is hoping to win owing to the Sabarimala issue.
BJP’s K Surendran, who was at the forefront of the protests over women’s entry into Sabarimala temple in the district, was chosen as the party's Pathanamthitta candidate. The exit polls predicted that the UDF’s Anto Antony is likely to win the seat. However, it said that despite a defeat, he is likely to increase his voter share substantially.
Sreedharan Pillai also expressed his disappointment over the exit poll predictions that the BJP will win only in Thiruvananthapuram.