BJP Kerala president K Surendran on Monday took the responsibility for the party’s humiliating defeat in Palakkad. He said only the party’s central leadership can decide on his resignation.

Amid reports that K Surendran has expressed his willingness to step down as BJP Kerala president, following the party’s humiliating defeat in the recent Palakkad byelection, Surendran on Monday clarified that only the party’s central leadership can decide on his resignation.

Addressing the media in Kozhikode, Surendran said as the president of the party, he would like to take responsibility for the poll debacle. However, he added that defeat and loss in elections are a collective responsibility of the party.

When asked if he would resign over the defeat, Surendran said he takes full responsibility as the state president. “As the state president, I am destined to bear the responsibility for the defeat. The president always gets blamed when there is a loss. I take the primary responsibility for this defeat,” he said.

Surendran further clarified that the decision to step down from his position is not an individual choice and would be made by the party’s central leadership. “If there are shortcomings in my work, it should be audited. The central leadership will decide whether I should stay or leave,” he said.

Following the heavy defeat in the A Plus constituency, criticism within the BJP in Palakkad intensified, targeting the party leadership The main criticism was directed at the decision to replace Shobha Surendran, who had strong prospects, with C. Krishnakumar, a move seen as unwise. In the 2016 election, Sobha Surendran had secured 40,000 votes, but this time, the tally dropped to 27,000.

Meanwhile, BJP Kerala in-charge Prakash Javadekar has clarified that no one will resign from their responsibilities due to the defeat in the Palakkad by-election and that no one has been asked to resign.

After the defat in Palakkad,the BJP leaders have covertly and overtly come out against the state leadership for the miserable performance of the party in Palakkad, where the saffron party was having a good chance to win.