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The presence of Malayalam actor and director K Raveendran, popularly known as Major Ravi, at the launch of the BJP's campaign in Ottapalam in Palakkad district has triggered speculation about his candidacy in the upcoming Assembly polls. Reports speculate if Major Ravi will be fielded in the Ottapalam constituency.
The campaign was launched on March 12 by actor-turned-politician and Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Suresh Gopi.
Speaking with the media, Major Ravi said his candidacy has not been officially announced and that he will support whoever is fielded.
“Yes, it’s true that I came here for the campaign, but until I get a confirmation or an official announcement, I can't commit to it. As it's political and anything can happen in politics,” he later told Asianet News.
Major Ravi joined the BJP in December 2023. At the time, he said that he’d always been a fan of Narendra Modi and the BJP for a long time.
Major Ravi, a native of Pattambi in Palakkad, retired from the National Security Guard. After retirement, he began his cinema career and is widely known for military-themed films. Some of his popular movies include Kurukshetra (2008), Karma Yodha (2012), Kandahar (2010), and Picket 43 (2015).
The Ottappalam Assembly constituency has been a CPI(M) since 2006. The current MLA is Adv K Premkumar, who was elected in the 2021 Kerala Assembly elections with a 46.45% vote share.
However, in the local body polls, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) secured nine out of 36 wards in the Ottappalam municipality — an equal number of seats to the UDF.