BJP seniors vie for Kumari bypoll ticket

If the party contests the seat as its leaders are hoping, one of the campaign points would be representation in Union Cabinet, BJP sources said.

The national party was allotted the seat in 2019 LS polls in the AIADMK alliance, pointed out sources at the BJP state headquarters, expressing confidence that it would contest the bypoll as well. Thus, even before the agreement is worked out with the ally, senior BJP leaders are already vying for the ticket.

“There is tough competition between former union minister Pon Radhakrishnan and local BJP strongman Nainar Nagendran for the ticket. A win in Kanniyakumari will be a huge boost for the party ahead of the next Assembly elections,” a BJP senior told DT Next.

The bypoll is differenct for three reasons. Politically, Kumari is different from other parts of the state, electing national parties over regional parties. Secondly, while there was a Congress–DMK wave last year, the party believes the public sentiment has changed now (it also helps that the Centre and state are ruled by the BJP and AIADMK, which has been an advantage in any bypoll). And most importantly, if the party candidate wins the election, the central leadership is likely to accommodate the member in the Union Cabinet ahead of 2021 Assembly polls.

These explain the interest within the BJP, prompting Nainar Nagendran to openly say that he was willing to contest if the party high command fielded him. When asked about Vasanthakumar’s son Vijay Vasanth rumoured to be the potential Congress candidate, the BJP senior conceded that sympathy wave could be a factor. However, the BJP has emerged even stronger in the region over the past one year, he added. BJP’s state unit president L Murugan is expected to start election works by the end of this month.

To a query on Kanniyakumari bypoll, when the BJP and AIADMK are involved in a war of words, AIADMK Minister D Jayakumar said the alliance was intact. The final decision to contest or support the BJP would be taken by party leadership, he added.