Thiruvananthapuram: The swearing-in of Suresh Gopi, the actor-turned politician who was elected from Thrissur and George Kurien, the BJPs Christian face from Kottayam and the former vice-president of the minority commission into the union cabinet led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to change the political dynamics in Kerala as both have been distinctive in their approach and style of functioning.
While Suresh Gopi carries the glamour from his decade-long cinema career, George Kurien began his career from the Jana Sangh days, climbing up through the organizational structures of the RSS and the BJP.
Both Suresh Gopi and George Kurien has sworn-in as Minister of State (MoS) in the cabinet.
Kurien’s entry into the cabinet is widely seen as part of the BJPs Christian outreach in the state where the party was seen reaching out to the community through various outreach programmes and Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself meeting the various Bishops during his visits to the state.
The state BJP hailed the central leadership for allotting two ministers for the state and stated that their induction will help Kerala in its future development endeavors and further strengthen the BJP’s relationship with the minority community that was widely seen detached to the BJP and right-wing politics.
“The induction of George Kurien is proving the commitment of the Modi government towards minority community in Kerala. The induction is a fitting reply to all those political forces who have been targeting the BJP of being averse to the minority communities in the state”, said V Muralidharan, senior BJP leader and former union minister of state for External Affairs and parliamentary affairs since 2019.
Suresh Gopi’s tryst with politics began from Karunakaran-era
The actor-politicians tryst with politics began during the early 2000 after his close connections with four-time Chief minister K Karunakaran with whom Sures Gopi had a good chemistry. There were rumours that the actor back then will be contesting to the Loksabha in a Congress ticket, but it did not materialize as Karunakaran passed away. The actor did not share a similar camaraderie with Ummen Chandy, the former chief minister. Later, the actor dismissed all speculations of joining Congress party.
It was after 2014 when Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister that Suresh Gopi got a surprise call to Delhi which later became a strong bond that grew over years. Suresh Gopi later joined the BJP and was elected to the Rajya Sabha following which he decided to contest from Thrissur Loksabha constituency in 2019. The actor lost the elections and finished third following which there were rumours that he will keep away from politics and dedicate himself towards acting. In a surprise move, the actor again contested in Thrissur for the 2021 assembly elections for which he lost and was been criticized by his political opponents. The actor-turned politician however did not stop there, instead began dedicating himself towards Thrissur constituency where he began a ‘one-man’ mission who started working towards the betterment of the region by involving himself in charity works and development aspects of the constituency.
The actor’s involvement and interest were hailed by his political detractors and received a major support from the public who cutting across religion, caste and political affiliations.
“Suresh Gopi’s victory in Thrissur is a perfect example of how an MP should dedicate himself towards a constituency even after losing twice from the region”, said Congress leader Shashi Tharoor.
The actor’s personal charisma, his charity works and presence in the constituency from 2019 where he personally monitored various development and welfare related schemes of the central government helped him win the support of the public.
George Kurien, BJPs Christian face from 80s
When a section of the faction of socialists left the Janatha Party to join the newly formed Bharatiya Janata Party in 1980, George Kurian, barely 19 at that time, from Kanakkari a small village in Kottayam, was one of them. His decision to join a right-wing Hindutva organization as a Christian youth attracted criticism from various quarters, not least from his conservative Christian family circles.
George Kurien always was in the forefront of BJPs politics and was based mostly in Thiruvananthapuram. Long-time party colleagues attribute the new post a testimony of his hard work and a more approachable person in the party. Kurien was also a link between various Christian leaders and the BJP leadership who had a strained relationship with the church after back-to-back attacks on Christian minorities in north and eastern parts of the country.
Intertwined in the BJP-RSS politics in the state for four decades, Kurian has held various significant positions, including membership in the national executive committee, serving as the national vice-president of Yuvamorcha, and being the vice-chairman of the National Commission for Minorities. At the time of his induction into the Modi-led cabinet, Kurian is a core committee member and vice-president of the BJP’s state unit. He has also served as a translator for Prime Minister Modi during his visits to the state.
“George Kurien’s induction is certainly a testimony for his hard-work and dedication for the party after beating all odds in a party which was seen among a large section of voters as anti-minority in Kerala”, said Joy Abraham, a senior lawyer and political analyst in Kozhikode.
However, with the Congress party gaining traction and opposition parties gaining momentum electorally, the performance of both the newly elected ministers will be watched and scrutinized from close quarters.
While Suresh Gopi carries the glamour from his decade-long cinema career, George Kurien began his career from the Jana Sangh days, climbing up through the organizational structures of the RSS and the BJP. Both Suresh Gopi and George Kurien has sworn-in as Minister of State (MoS) in the cabinet. Kerala States News India: Top News India, States News, States News Headlines, Online State News India, State Politics news
