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Bhopal, Aug 22 (IANS) A day after filing his nomination as a BJP candidate for the upcoming by-election to a Rajya Sabha seat from Madhya Pradesh, Union Minister George Kurian said on Thursday that the party has a strong base in the state, while it is gradually strengthening its ground in Kerala as well.
Kurian (63), who is the Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, and Minority Affairs, told IANS during a short interaction on Thursday that he has had detailed discussions with BJP leaders in Madhya Pradesh and he would implement the findings in his home state Kerala to further strengthen the party.
“I am in Bhopal for the last four days, and I have had healthy discussions with the state BJP leaders. I would share those ideas with the BJP leadership in Kerala and request to implement them during the upcoming membership drive,” Kurian said.
Elections to 12 vacant Rajya Sabha seats across nine states will be held on September 3. Of the 11 Rajya Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh, seven are with the ruling BJP while three are with the Congress.
The veteran BJP leader also said that although the Left parties and the Congress have a strong base in his home state, the state's political scenario is witnessing some changes after the BJP opened its account for the first time in the recent Lok Sabha elections with actor-politician Suresh Gopi winning from Thrissur.
"Communist parties and the Congress have ruled Kerala for decades and they have a strong base there due to many reasons. But, the people of Kerala have now realised that they share similar ideologies," Kurain said.
Citing BJP's historic victory in Thrissur, Kurian said the results boosted the confidence of the party workers in Kerala.
Kurian filed his nomination for the Rajya Sabha seat from Madhya Pradesh after it fell vacant following Jyotiraditya Scindia's election to the Lok Sabha from Guna.
Kurian is expected to win the Rajya Sabha bypoll unopposed as only three persons filed nomination for the seat, including a dummy candidate of the BJP.
If he wins, which now looks a formality, Kurian will be the second BJP leader from South India to become a Rajya Sabha MP from Madhya Pradesh after Union Minister L. Murugan from Tamil Nadu.
--IANS
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