Exit polls throw the gateway to deep south open for BJP
exit polls on Saturday were giving minimum one and maximum three seats to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Kerala and minimum one and maximum four seats in Tamil Nadu. While the BJP has never won any Lok Sabha seat in Kerala, it had been struggling as a junior partner to the AIADMK in Tamil Nadu. Its best performance in Tamil Nadu was four seats in 1999. Exit polls not only indicate that the BJP is going to register a presence in both these states, but also predict a much higher vote share.
Lok Sabha Exit Poll Results 2024 Live Updates
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had focused on south India where the party traditionally has been considered weak. Before the polls, he made several visits to Kerala as well as Tamil Nadu, holding roadshows, addressing rallies and visiting temples. What else could have worked for the BJP in these two states of the deep south?
BJP's Kerala strategy
The CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) have long dominated Kerala politics. This time, the BJP emerged as a formidable challenge to these established alliances. A shift towards a triangular contest was evident in several Lok Sabha constituencies, signaling a departure from the traditional two-party dominance.
The BJP fielded two Union ministers, Rajeev Chandrasekhar from Thiruvananthapuram and V Muraleedharan from Attingal. Several Congress leaders defected to the BJP, including Padmaja Venugopal, the daughter of former chief minister K Karunakaran, and Anil
