Kerala assembly elections: O Rajagopal on mission lotus bloom for BJP

O Rajagopal, the 86 year old candidate of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Kerala, might be one of their best bet to win a seat in the upcoming Legislative Assembly elections and open the party's account in the state. 

Born on September 15, 1929 to Madhavan Nair and O Kunhikkavu Amma at Pudukkod Panchayath in Palakkad district, he completed Law graduation in Chennai and began practicing law in 1956 at the Palakkad District Court. Inspired by Deendayal Upadhyaya, he started working in the Jana Sangh after practicing as a lawyer for 12 years. The death of Upadhyaya in 1968 spurred Rajagopal to pursue his public career by giving up his profession, according to the BJP website. 

He was the State General Secretary of Jana Sangh until 1974. That same year, he became President, a post he held until 1977. After the emergency, the Jana Sangh merged with the Janata Party. During this period, he served as the State General Secretary of the Janata party. In 1980, the Janata Party split and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was formed and he served as its Kerala president until 1985. He became All India Secretary, General Secretary, and the Vice President of BJP and was elected in 1992 and 1998 to the Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh. 

In the year 1999, he became the Minister of State in the Ministry of Law, Justice and Company Affairs and Minister of State in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and then became the Minister of State in the Ministry of Railways between 2000 and 2002. He later held the positions of Minister of State in the Ministry of Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation, Minister of State in the Ministry of Defence and Minister of State in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs.

Having fought several assembly and parliamentary elections from various constituencies in Kerala, Rajagopal is yet to win a seat. Even his political opponents concede that he is the right man in the wrong party in the state as his clean image and popularity should have ensured a electoral victory long back. But Rajagopal hopes to make history this time by being the first BJP MLA from the state, with the central leadership of the party campaigning strongly for its candidates with no less than the Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing a few rallies as the state goes to the polls.