BJP to take out 'Vijaya Yatra' from Tuesday

Thiruvananthapuram: Celebrating the election of former union minister O Rajagopal, its first ever MLA in Kerala, BJP will launch a three-day state-level "Vijaya Yatra" from the politically sensitive Kannur district Tuesday.

Rajagopal scripted history by winning the Neamom seat with a margin of 8,671 votes, defeating nearest CPI-M candidate V Sivankutty in the May 16 assembly elections, as the BJP made inroad in the state.

The yatra, aimed at making the victory a grand event, would start from Payyambalam in Kannur and party workers would give reception to Rajagopal at various centres before the Yatra reaches here on June 2, the day new elected MLAs would take oath, the party leaders said.

Apart from winning a seat, the party also managed to finish runner up in seven assembly constituencies.

BJP also increased its vote share from nearly 6 per cent to 14 per cent this time.

The saffron party, which used to fight electoral battle on its own so far, this time found an ally in the newly formed party the Bharat Dharam Jana Sena of Sree Narayana Dharma Pripalana Yogam, an outfit of backward Ezhava community.