The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday won its first-ever Lok Sabha seat in Kerala, with the victory of actor-turned-politician Suresh Gopi from Thrissur.

Gopi defeated VS Sunilkumar of the Communist Party of India by 74,686 votes.

Commenting on the victory, Kerala BJP chief K Surendran said that Gopi “made history” in the election. “The [National Democratic vote share in Kerala has risen to 20%. Thanks to all voters for believing in and voting for PM Narendra Modi.”

Kerala, which has 20 Lok Sabha seats, went to the polls in the second phase on April 26. As of 8.55 pm on Tuesday, the Congress was ahead in 14 seats, the Indian Union Muslim League in two seats and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in one seat.

The Kerala Congress and Revolutionary Socialist Party won one seat each.

In the run-up to polling in the state, Kerala witnessed an intense political showdown between the ruling Left Democratic Front, helmed by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), and the Congress-led United Democratic Front. This traditional rivalry has long characterised the political landscape of the southern state.

However, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance emerged as a contender in this election. The BJP had previously not made significant inroads in the state.

In Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency, Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar gave a tough fight, emerging as the leading candidate in the early hours of the counting, but the seat eventually went to the Congress leader. Shashi Tharoor won with a margin of 16,077 votes, securing 3,58,155 of the total votes counted.

In 2019, while the United Democratic Front won 19 of the 20 Lok Sabha seats in Kerala, the Left Democratic Front clinched the remaining one. The Congress-led alliance had a vote share of 47%, ahead of the Left bloc’s 36.2%. The BJP-led alliance’s 14.8% vote share had not translated into any seats.

Follow Scroll’s 2024 Lok Sabha elections coverage here