BJP breaks through in Kerala, Tharoor wins in super-over

For the first time the BJP has made inroads into Kerala with cine star Suresh Gopi winning the Thrissur constituency by over 72000 votes Gopi expressed gratitude to voters and promised to focus on developmentMeanwhile Congress senior leader Shashi Tharoor likened the vote counting to a nailbiting super over in a T20 cricket match admitting it was a tough fight His BJP opponent Rajeev Chandrashekar despite his disappointment is determined to continue working toward making Thiruvananthapuram a worldclass cityRajeev Chandrashekhar talking to media after the resultmidday spoke to all three candidates about their experiences future plans and even failuresSuresh Gopi wins ThrissurldquoThrissur granted me victory and I offer my pranam to the peoplerdquo said cine star and BJP candidate Suresh Gopi after winning the Lok Sabha election He emphasised overcoming obstacles with the support of truth and the peopleldquoIf any of you thought this win is a miracle let me say it was imminent I bow down to all those who supported merdquo Gopi added thanking grassroots workers and supporters ldquoOver thousand plus people from Mumbai Delhi Madhya Pradesh etc were with me for forty two days of the election campaign and they projected me through themrdquo said the actorSuresh Gopi celebrates on the day of counting of votes PicPTIGopi expressed gratitude to Amit Shah for launching his candidacy and called Narendra Modi his ldquopolitical godrdquo He also acknowledged leaders like Indira Gandhi P V Narasimha Rao and Atal Bihari Vajpayee for their contributionsNDA congratulates people of ThrissurV Master Unnikrishnan BJP Palakkad regional president and Thrissur Lok Sabha election incharge praised the historic victory in Thrissur stating it increases the NDArsquos responsibility ldquoNDA congratulates the people of Thrissur for supporting Suresh Gopi beyond caste religion and politics We will work hard to realize Thrissurrsquos development dreamsrdquo he saidHuge procession plannedSuresh Gopi will visit Thrissur on Wednesday morning with a large procession planned by BJP workers ldquoHe will take a helicopter from Thiruvananthapuram to Thrissurrdquo confirmed Shivprasad K B BJP Thrissur District Committee Member ldquoThe procession will start from the BJP party office at 3 pm covering the entire cityrdquo The visit was delayed due to a felicitation event at the BJP State party office in ThiruvananthapuramIt was a tough fight TharoorSpeaking to midday Shashi Tharoor said ldquoIt felt like the super over was being played here in Kerala today It was a tight one but victory was finally ours I publicly congratulated my opponents for giving a tough fightrdquo Regarding his next plan he added ldquoIrsquom currently finishing some procedural formalities with the Returning Officer and then Irsquoll visit parts of my constituency to thank the voters before dark Today Irsquoll fly to New Delhi to witness developments there Upon returning to Thiruvananthapuram Irsquoll spend the day thanking voters for their faith in me and continue working for the development of my constituency and KeralardquoOutcome disappointing ChandrasekharldquoI bow before the publicrsquos mandate I thank each one of you for your support and belief in me during the recent Lok Sabha election While the outcome has been disappointing we all worked very hard and I am grateful for your unwavering commitment and encouragementrdquo said Rajeev Chandrasekhar BJP candidate from ThiruvananthapuramldquoAs I said on March 5 when I came here it is my mission to transform Thiruvananthapuram and I stand by it My dedication to serving our capital city remains steadfast I am honoured to have stood as your candidate and I will continue working tirelessly to address the issues facing our constituencyrdquo Rajeev addedldquoI thank from my heart of hearts all the 340 lakh people in Thiruvananthapuram who voted for me I will be with you in making Thiruvananthapuram a worldclass city My commitment to the city is not only through the prism of the election it is something that I have made my mission and I will certainly be here to serve the people for years to comerdquo he concluded