Opinion | How BJP Bungled Its ‘Mission South’, From Surendran To Annamalai And Bandi Sanjay Kumar

PM Narendra Modi and Tamil Nadu BJP chief K. Annamalai at a rally in Salem last month. ( Image Source :PTI )

On the eve of the BJP’s declaration of candidates for Kerala, state president K. Surendran confided to a senior journalist that he would contest from Pathanamthitta – in a last-minute change of plans.  This was after initial consensus within the party that the state chief should not be in the fray, in light of criticism that Surendran contesting from two seats in the 2021 assembly elections was one of the factors behind its heavy loss. The eventual list left out four seats for