Sources from Thiruvananthapuram stated that a senior BJP leader said on Thursday Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive at Pathanamthitta in Kerala on January 6 to begin the campaign for the Lok Sabha elections. Meanwhile PM Modi's arrival in Pathanamthitta the district where the Sabarimala temple is located is seen as a deft political move.
Furthermore when speaking to the media in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala BJP President PS Sreedharan Pillai said PM Modi will arrive in Pathanamthitta from Andhra Pradesh. Mr. Pillai said "This is his visit as part of the election campaign, and he flies to Pathanamthitta from Guntur". Reportedly the BJP has only one legislator in the 140 member Kerala Assembly. Perhaps the party is hopeful of putting up a good show in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Moreover the best performance they have put up in Kerala was in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls when they finished second in the Thiruvananthapuram seat. Accordingly Kerala has 20 Lok Sabha seats. Sabarimala has witnessed protests since the September 28 Supreme Court verdict that allowed women of all ages to enter the temple that hitherto banned girls and women aged between 10 and 50.
