With the Lok Sabha elections around the corner, it has now become quite clear that all is not well in the Kerala unit of the BJP.

The strife within the party was out in the open on Saturday as BJP Kerala vice-president Sobha Surendran lashed out at the state leadership of the party, specifically state president K Surendran.

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In an interview given to a Malayalam news channel aired on Saturday night, Sobha Surendran broke down while recounting how she was humiliated by the state party leadership though she was performing her duties well. She said while she was not leaving, but was being kept out from party.

When questions were raised about her absence in party functions, she said false stories are created and circulated on her absence.

“Recently, when Amit Shahji visited Thrissur, my own district, I was not invited to his function. When questions about my absence at the stage of the public function arose, stories were circulated online through the media that Sobha Surendran was not invited since she did something against the party,” Sobha said.

The firebrand woman leader of Kerala BJP also alleged that Prakash Javadekar, the party’s prabhari of Kerala, did not intervene to end the ill treatment meted out to her by the party state leadership.

“After Prakash Javadekar became the new in-charge of BJP in the state, discussions were held three times on strengthening the party in the state. But, the situation remained as before with many leaders, including myself, are being kept out,” Sobha said

She said the party was above all other things for her and she worked for the party and allied organisations from a very young age onwards, but the state leadership is totally ignoring her.

“I have to sacrifice my role as a family member for the party, as I considered the party above all that. Such a person is now being insulted, ignored and sidelined by the party state leadership,” Sobha said

“In such a situation of alienation, what do I have to do? Whether I have to shave my head as was done by   Congress leader Lathika Suresh or I have to sit on satyagraha,” she asked.

Sobha  Surendran has been with the BJP for well over 25 years. Born into a family of RSS loyalists at Wadakkanchery in the Thrissur district, she is a crowd-puller. Her oratory skill has earned her popularity among BJP cadres and sympathisers. Her alienation in the party started after K Surendran was appointed the state BJP president in February 2020.

She claims that the BJP state leadership has been completely ignoring and sidelining Sobha Surendran for the last three years. However, the party leadership hasn’t admitted it. Now, she herself has come out with what she has been experiencing.

Sobha’s revelations have opened a new battle front in the fractured BJP state unit in Kerala. The party state leadership is now on the defensive.

Political observer A Sajeevan says  if the issues raised by Sobha Surendran is not settled amicably before the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, it will adversely affect the prospects of  BJP in the state, as many BJP workers and sympathisers feel that Sobha Surendran, who toiled for the party for around 25 years, is not getting due consideration in the party.

Political analyst Advocate Jayasankar said BJP leadership cannot ignore a popular leader like Sobha Surendran, who has the rare knack to connect with the people and garner votes. It seems Sobha Surendran, who has fire within her would not withdraw without a fight.