Kerala: Suresh Gopi, BJP's Thrissur Candidate, To Lead Protest March In Front Of Karuvannur Cooperative Bank At Heart Of ED Probe

Actor and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, Suresh Gopi will today (2 October) lead a protest march in front of the Karuvannur Cooperative Bank in Thrissur, which is at the centre of an ongoing Enforcement Directorate (ED) probe into money laundering that has brought to light the alleged involvement of a number of CPI-(M) leaders.

The march, called the the Sahakari Samrakshana Padayatra (Cooperative Protection March) would be inaugurated by BJP state president, K Surendran.

Gopi, whose candidature from Thrissur in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections has been confirmed by Surendran, after rumours of him being sidelined from state politics due to his recent appointment as the president of the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI), has said that securing justice for the common people who were affected by the scam is the main aim of the march.

CPI(M) state secretary MV Govindan, who was criticised for his remarks on Lord Ganesha along with Speaker AN Shamseer has said that the ED's action in the Karuvannur Bank case was to pave the way for Gopi's victory from the constituency.

In 2019, the BJP polled 28.2 per cent of the votes in Thrissur with Gopi as its candidate.

The seat was won by TN Prathapan of the Congress, who received 39.8 per cent of the votes. The CPI's Rajaji Mathew Thomas finished second with 30.9 per cent of the votes. The difference between the vote share of the BJP and the CPI was 2.7 per cent.