BJP candidate's flex board in Guruvayur sparks buzz after 'Hindu MLA' row

Days after his controversial 'Hindu MLA' remark, a flex board featuring the names of former legislators from the Guruvayur constituency has appeared as part of BJP candidate B Gopalakrishnan's campaign, drawing widespread attention.

Installed at a busy junction in the constituency, the flex board lists the names of MLAs elected from Guruvayur between 1977 and 2021, along with the years they were elected.

While the display of the flex board seemed to be an attempt to highlight the electoral victory of candidates belonging to a particular community in Guruvayur, Gopalakrishnan maintained that it was merely a documentation of the constituency's political past.

The board, painted in the colours of the BJP flag, also carries a question asking who will be the next MLA from the Constituency in 2026.

"It is the political history of the constituency. It is the responsibility of a candidate to present the political history of the constituency where he is contesting," he told reporters here.

The development comes days after police registered a case against the BJP leader over his alleged communal remarks in a campaign video related to the upcoming Assembly polls.

In the video, Gopalakrishnan had allegedly claimed that the Guruvayur constituency had not elected a "Hindu MLA" for nearly five decades and accused both the Left and Congress-led fronts of not fielding candidates from the community.

The Guruvayur police had, last week, registered the case based on a complaint filed by the Returning Officer of the constituency.

He had been booked under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Representation of the People Act.

Both the ruling CPI(M) and the opposition Congress had approached the Election Commission seeking action against the BJP leader over the remark.

The Congress-affiliated Kerala Students' Union (KSU) had also moved the High Court and lodged a police complaint demanding stringent action against the remarks, alleging they carried communal overtones.

While considering the petition, the Kerala High Court, on March 27, disposed of the petition with a direction to the Election Commission to consider and pass appropriate orders on the March 20 representation received by it from the petitioner -- KSU leader Gokul K.

The court directed that the representation be disposed of within two months from the date of its receipt by the Commission.