Kummanam Rajashekharan will be announced as the next BJP state president of Kerala in Delhi on Friday, and he will take charge the same day, as soon as he returns from Delhi, as per reports.
Since Kerala leaders had different opinions regarding who will be the next BJP state president, the decision-making was left to the central leadership and the BJP President Amit Shah selected Kummanam.
The outgoing president V Muraleedharan had backed Hindu Aikya Vedi State general secretary Kummanam as his successor. But, there was a difference of opinion with the central leadership earlier projecting R Balashankar - former editor of Organiser (RSS mouthpiece) - as the successor, and Balashankar was backed by a few leaders in Kerala too.
Kummanam was selected reportedly because of his close relationship with different Hindu communities, as the party considers him an ideal leader for a broad Hindu alliance.
Kummanam Rajashekharan was born in village Kummanam, which is four kilometres away from Kottayam. A graduate in botany and diploma holder in journalism, he started his career with the newspaper Deepika in 1974.
He also worked in the media firms, Rashtravartha, Keraladesham, Keralabhooshanam and Kerala Dwani. Though he started working in the Food Corporation of India in 1976, he resigned in 1987 and worked as a fulltime activist in RSS. He later became the state general secretary of Hindu Aikya Vedi and chairman of Janmabhumi daily (BJP mouthpiece).
He shot to political prominence in 1983 through the Nilakkal protest, in an issue of land encroachment. In 2002, he headed the protests following the Marad communal riots. He is also known as the man who single-handedly established RSS in Kerala.
Though BJP leaders at the centre felt that Kummanam may be at a disadvantage when it comes to wooing Kerala Christians, the Muraleedharan faction and RSS strongly lobbied for him.