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Shashi Tharoor versus Rajeev Chandrasekhar in Thiruvananthapuram?
Thiruvananthapuram is the seat which Shashi Tharoor has been winning since 2009. Rajeev Chandrasekhar is BJP's fresh face from the seat for 2024.
Thiruvananthapuram may witness a battle of the titans as sitting MP Shashi Tharoor may have to contest with Union minister of state Rajeev Chandrasekhar for the seat that he has been winning since 2009. Before 2009, the seat oscillated between CPM and the Congress but Tharoor holds the record of a three-term winning streak. Both Tharoor and Rajeev Chandrasekhar are originally from Kerala, though born elsewhere -- Tharoor in the UK and Chandrasekhar in Gujarat.
While this will be Rajeev Chandrasekhar's first Lok Sabha election, this will be Tharoor's 4th and probably last as he earlier said. If Shashi Tharoor is fielded from his constituency, it will be a crucial battle for both the BJP and the Congress -- and for Rajeev Chandrasekhar and Shashi Tharoor on an individual level as well. The BJP has no Lok Sabha MP from Kerala and if Rajeev Chandrasekhar loses, the defeat will be difficult for a Union minister. For Tharoor, it is a prestige battle as losing on his home turf will be a bitter farewell if he opts out of electoral politics.
“I am very excited and honoured. This is the first opportunity I have got to contest in the Lok Sabha. I express gratitude to PM Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and party president JP Nadda who have chosen to field me as their candidate in the capital of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram... It's a campaign I look forward to and I will start it very shortly...The people of Thiruvananthapuram are more powerful and they will decide who they want to see victorious. BJP will have a decisive mandate in the coming elections…” Rajeev Chandrasekhar said.
Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Anil Antony BJP's picks for Kerala in 'double digit' push
Narendra Modi was in Kerala recently where he said the BJP is aiming to achieve double digits in the state. To this, Shashi Tharoor said it would be possible if both these digits were zero.
BJP Lok Sabha 2024 candidates: Check full list of 195 names here
Stakes are quite high on both of them while BJP's southern push is clear. The BJP announced 12 names for Kerala -- ML Ashwini from Kasaragod, C Raghunath from Kannur, Prafulla Krishna from Vadkara, MT Ramesh from Kozhikode, Abdul Salam from Malappuram Niveditha Subramanian from Ponnai, C Krishnakumar from Palakkad, Suresh Gopi from Thrissur, Shobha Surendran from Alappuzha, Anil K Antony from Pathanamthitta, V Muraleedharan from Attingal and Rajiv Chandrasekhar from Thiruvananthapuram.
In 2019, Shashi Tharoor got over four lakh votes while BJP candidate Kummanam Rajasekharan was the second with around 3.16 lakh votes.
