Kerala Assembly Election 2021: ‘Metro man’ E Sreedharan joined the BJP last month (Archive)
Thiruvananthapuram:
In Sreedharan, India’s ‘metropolitan man’ will be the BJP’s top ministerial candidate for next month’s Kerala Assembly elections, Union Minister V Muraleedharan tweeted on Thursday night.
“Kerala BJP Will Fight Kerala Polls With E SreedharanHee as its main ministerial candidate. We will defeat both the CPM and Congress to provide development-oriented and corruption-free governance for the people of Kerala, “said Muraleedharan.
“BJP, under the able leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra ModiHee will endeavor to serve the needs of the people of Kerala. The new Kerala under E SreedharanHee it will pave the way for efficient and effective government in the state, “he added.
@ BJP4India under the able leadership of PM Shri @Narendra Modi Ji will endeavor to serve the needs of the people of Kerala.
The new Kerala under E Sreedharan Ji will pave the way for efficient and effective government in the state.
#ESreedharan– V Muraleedharan (@VMBJP) March 4, 2021
The BJP’s decision to cast Sreedharan as its top ministerial candidate runs counter to an “unofficial” rule in the party: that no one over the age of 75 can be considered for a ministerial post or post.
Sreedharan will turn 89 in June. However, there is immediate precedent for exceptions to that rule; BS Yediyurappa was 76 years old when he was sworn in as Chief Minister of Karnataka in 2019.
Union Minister Muraleedharan’s tweets came shortly after K Surendran, the Kerala head of the BJP, endorsed Sreedharan, who formally joined the party last week.
“‘Metro man’ E Sreedharan built (a) bridge in five months without corruption. Not like the flyover that had to be demolished and was a reflection of the misrule of the CPM-UDF. We have asked the party to make E Sreedharan the candidate to Chief Minister, “Surendran said at a party meeting in Thiruvalla.
That was the second time in two weeks that Surendran hit for Mr. Sreedharan; last month, at a rally in Kasargod, he said the ‘subway man’ was “qualified to grace any position … including Chief Minister.”
Earlier today, Mr. Sreedharan visited the Palarivattom flyover in Kochi, dressed in the uniform of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) for the last time in his engineering career.
“This will be the last day I will wear this uniform. I wore the DMRC outdoor uniform for the first time in November 1997 … The same practice I have continued for the past 24 years,” he was quoted by the ANI news agency.
Sreedharan said he expected a “great” victory in the elections, and had “made only one demand”: “I want to participate in a constituency not far from Ponnani, where I now reside.”
“I will not work like a politician … I will work like a technocrat,” he said.
Last month, Sreedharan said that he could not achieve his goals for Kerala “unless I am the prime minister.”
“If BJP comes to power in Kerala, there will be three to four main areas we want to focus on. One is infrastructure development in a big way and another is bringing in industry,” he said last month.
“If the BJP wants to, I will contest (the elections),” he said during a telephone interview, adding, “(and) to put it very frankly, unless I am the prime minister, these priorities cannot be achieved. “.
The BJP has only one MLA in the 140-member Kerala Assembly (up from zero in 2011), but is hopeful that Sreedharan’s charisma and appeal will rub off on the party’s fortunes.
Sreedharan’s entry into electoral politics has been downplayed by the BJP’s rivals in Kerala. Congressman Shashi Tharoor said he thought the ‘subway man’ would have “minimal impact.”
Kerala will vote in a single phase on April 6 and the results will be delivered on May 2.
Sreedharan first made headlines while restoring the historic Pamban Bridge in Tamil Nadu, the link between Rameshwaram Island and the mainland, after it was damaged by a cyclone.
He received the Padma Shri in 2001 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2008.
With contributions from ANI, PTI
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