Speculations of Muraleedharan taking over as Kerala BJP president deepens

Thiruvananthapuram: Speculations about Union Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan replacing K.Surendran as the new state BJP president is intensifying with each passing day.

If it turns out to be true, it would be Muraleedharan's second innings after a five-year term from 2010.

Fifty-three-year-old Surendran - a close aide of Muraleedharan - was appointed with much fanfare, but he failed to prove his mettle in tackling issues in the faction-ridden state unit of the BJP.

As per sources, with Surendran at the helm of state affairs, the BJP failed to make inroads in the electoral arena with a poor performance in the 2020 local bodies election.

Besides, the party ended up losing the only seat it had in the 2021 Assembly polls.

Sources in the BJP indicated that the national leadership is trying to find a suitable post for Surendran at the national level and given his "young" age, a gubernatorial post does not appear feasible.

The two previous state BJP presidents were given a Governor’s post.