Who is Suresh Gopi, BJP's first Lok Sabha MP from Kerala

THRISSUR/KOCHI: In the Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency, Suresh Gopi, a 65-year-old politician, has emerged victorious, securing 3,37,652 votes. His closest competitor, K Muraleedharan from the Congress party, finished second. Sunil Kumar from the Communist Party of India also contested the election.
This marks Gopi's second consecutive attempt to win the Thrissur seat.In the 2019 elections, he suffered a defeat at the hands of Congress candidate TN Prathapan by a margin of 1,21,267 votes, finishing third. Despite the loss, Gopi's participation helped the BJP increase its vote share from 11.1% in 2014 to an impressive 28.2% in 2019. The party, which has never won a Lok Sabha seat in Kerala, fielded Gopi again in hopes of opening its account.
In a historic victory, actor-turned-politician Suresh Gopi is set to win the parliamentary seat of Thrissur, according to trends announced by the Election Commission on Tuesday in the counting of votes for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Gopi expressed his elation at the BJP's breakthrough in Kerala, stating, "What was very impossible became gloriously possible."
The actor, who contested from the seat for the second time after losing in the 2019 general elections, expressed his gratitude to the "truly secular voters" of Thrissur. He acknowledged that there were attempts to sway voters away from the BJP, but he believed that God guided them on the right path. "Attempts were made to mislead the voters but God led them on the correct path to accept my party through me ...even if some of you feel that this is a miracle, this miracle was imminent...The victory is due to people's blessings. I bow down to the truly secular voters of Thrissur who made this victory possible," Gopi said.
Gopi declared his unwavering support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said, "Narendra Modi is my political God. I am not believing in just a manifesto. I will work for the whole Kerala. I will work as Kerala MP." The 65-year-old actor emphasized his commitment to serving the entire state of Kerala, with his first priority being the establishment of an AIIMS facility.
The actor also acknowledged the efforts of BJP workers who contributed to his election campaign. "I also credit my party workers who worked in more than a thousand booths in the constituency. A lot of mothers and sisters from other districts and states also worked for me. Many of them came from Mumbai, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi. Their effort made a positive impact," Gopi said, highlighting the support he received from across the country.
In the 2021 assembly elections, Gopi demonstrated remarkable progress, securing 31.3 percent of the votes, a significant increase from the party's 19.46 percent in 2016, despite finishing in third place.
Gopi also contested the 2021 Kerala State Assembly elections from the Thrissur segment but lost by a narrow margin of 3,806 votes. The Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency, which comprises seven assembly segments, went to polls in the second phase on April 26 and recorded an impressive voter turnout of 72.9%.
Who is Suresh Gopi
Gopi's journey in the Malayalam film industry began as a child artiste in the 1965 movie 'Odayil Ninnu'. He later gained recognition for his role as a minor character in the 1986 film 'T. P. Balagopalan M' before rising to become one of the Malayalam industry's action stars in the 1990s.
Throughout his career, he has appeared in approximately 250 films, primarily in Malayalam.
In September 2023, Gopi was appointed as the president of the Kolkata-based Satyajit Ray Film & Television Institute (SRFTI) and chairman of its governing council.
In the 1990s, he was a popular Malayalam actor, rivaling superstars Mohanlal and Mammooty in terms of cinema popularity and box-office success. The BJP's Kerala leadership sought to capitalize on his mass appeal.
His political journey began in April 2016 when he was nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the President of India in the eminent citizens category. In October of the same year, he formally joined the Bharatiya Janata Party.
During his tenure in the Rajya Sabha, Gopi served on the standing committee for information and technology and the consultative committee for civil aviation.
Why this win is significant for BJP
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has historically struggled to make significant inroads in Kerala's bipolar political landscape, which has been dominated by the CPM and Congress-led coalitions. Despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi's repeated visits to the state and his confidence in winning "double digits" seats, the party faced an uphill battle in securing even a single seat out of the 20 Lok Sabha constituencies in Kerala.
Although the BJP emerged as a strong contender in the past two Lok Sabha elections, it had been unable to secure victory due to the apparent vote trading between LDF and UDF to keep the saffron party at bay.