Ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to address a gathering of two lakh women and conduct a kilometre-long roadshow in Thrissur. The rally organised by the BJP is called as the “Sthree Shakthi Modikkoppam (woman power with Modi) Mahila Sangamam”, which is seen as a reception of the Prime Minister for the passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill.
This is the PM’s second visit to Thrissur constituency in the last five years, which the saffron party has kept as its focus ahead of the upcoming general elections. Thrissur was also the first town, PM Modi visited in Kerala after being elected to office in 2014.
“We are all set, the preparations are going on. This is the biggest-ever Mahila Rally Kerala has seen…More than 2 lakh women are participating in the rally from various sections of the society, especially Agandwadi teachers, Asha workers, MNREGA workers, he told news agency ANI.
#WATCH | Thrissur: On PM Modi’s Kerala visit, state BJP Chief K Surendran says, “We are all set, the preparations are going on. This is the biggest-ever Mahila Rally Kerala has seen…More than 2 lakh women are participating in the rally from various sections of the society,… pic.twitter.com/cBIcQtWBPX
— ANI (@ANI) January 3, 2024
Ahead of the meeting, the PM will be holding a roadshow, which will also have in attendance BJP aspirant from the Thrissur Lok Sabha seat, actor-turned-politician Suresh Gopi, among others, reported The Indian Express.
Surendran also said that the the PM’s visit will be a landmark in the state’s politics. He also alleged that the ruling Communist Party of India -Marxist (CPI-M) and the Congress are irritated as the saffron party is getting support from the minorities.
He added that several women entrepreneurs from Kerala, including 78-year-old Mariyakkutty, who had protested against the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government over delay in disbursing pensions, which also share the dias with PM Modi.
The BJP has not won a Lok Sabha seat in Kerala yet, and has just one Assembly seat till date. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, BJP’s KP Sreesan had contested from Thrissur, and the BJP had garnered only 11.15 per cent vote share. In 2019, the party had fielded Suresh Gopi, and although the vote share grew, Congress emerged as the winner from the constituency.
Several BJP leaders, including Union Ministers, have been attending programmes to promote the Central schemes in the southern state. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had attended a credit outreach programme in Thiruvananthapuram’s Attingal.
