Rajeev Chandrasekhar elected as new Kerala BJP chief, vows to make state ‘Viksit’

Former Union IT Minister and technocrat-turned-politician Rajeev Chandrasekhar was elected as the new president of Kerala state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday.

Addressing party workers, Rajeev Chandrasekhar said he had been entrusted with the responsibility of heading the BJP. He said it is a “huge opportunity and significant honour” for him, calling the state “in decline” and promising it will be “Viksit Kerala.”

“This is a significant honour for me. It is a huge opportunity to serve my state...We know that we have to bring change to Kerala. We also know that to bring effective change to the lives of the people of Kerala, to the economy of Kerala, to bring investments, to create opportunities for the youth, we have to be in government, and therefore, our goal is that we will make a very strong effort to provide an alternative to the state that the two fronts have ravaged over the last 70 years. Kerala today is in decline and we want Kerala to be 'Viksit Kerala'…” he said, according to news agency ANI.

“For entrusting me with this responsibility, I wholeheartedly thank my high command—Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP national president J P Nadda, and others," he said. I also extend my gratitude to all former state presidents and those who have sacrificed their lives for the party. Their dedication will serve as a guiding force in my journey ahead,” PTI quoted him as saying.

K Surendran, from the BJP's Kerala, posted on X announcing Chandrasekhar's filing of nomination. According to media reports, Prakash Javadekar, the BJP party’s Kerala in-charge, and co-in-charge Aparjita Sarangi, a Lok Sabha Member of Parliament, chaired a meeting where they decided to pick Chandrasekhar to head the party's Kerala unit.

Chandrasekhar slams Kerala government

Chandrasekhar hit out at the Kerala government, asking why Kerala relies on debt and why students are forced to go abroad for education, further questioning the lack of new initiatives. "Kerala's development has stagnated. Challenges remain, but the BJP’s mission is to transform the state. Without opportunities, our youth will not stay. We need a Kerala that attracts investment and creates employment," he said.

Who is Rajeev Chandrasekhar?

Chandrasekhar, 60, is a three-time Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka and a former minister of state for electronics and IT. He bought a house in the city and was actively involved in the state's important issues, establishing a base for himself.

Congress's Shashi Tharoor defeated Chandrasekhar from Thiruvananthapuram by 16,077 votes. He started his parliamentary journey in 2006 as an independent member of the Rajya Sabha, representing Karnataka. He was re-elected for the third term to Rajya Sabha as a BJP member in 2018.