Kerala actor Suresh Gopi nominated to Rajya Sabha

The actor, who joined the BJP last year, was nominated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi under the art category

The voice of the Kerala unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will echo in the Parliament with the party government in New Delhi nominating Malayalam action hero Suresh Gopi to the Upper House.
The actor, who had joined the BJP last year, was nominated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi under the art category.
Suresh Gopi has described his nomination as a gift by Modi to the people of Kerala. He said that he will use the position for the betterment of the people. "I will work for Kerala even without sleep," he told reporters after offering worship at the Pazhavngadi temple in the state capital.
The 55-year-old actor, who has acted in more than 200 films, was earlier offered the post of chairman of the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) of India, but it could not materialise due to some technical reasons.
Though the party had approached him to contest the assembly election from Trivandrum, the actor declined the offer and chose to campaign for the party-led coalition. Since then he has been actively campaigning for National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidates in various parts of the state.
He is expected to accompany the Prime Minister during his campaign tours in the state next month and also share the podium with him. Modi is scheduled to address six public meetings as part of his election campaign in the state.
Suresh Gopi had fallen under Modi's charm after he met him in March 2014 for the first time while he was chief minister of Gujarat as part of his interaction with personalities from various sectors. The actor said he was amazed by Modi's attempt to gather even minor details of everything that happened in Kerala in the last 20 years.
Though Gopi then had no intention to enter politics, Modi tried to draw him close to him by inviting the actor to his swearing in ceremony. The actor has been a vocal supporter of Modi since then. He had decided to join the BJP after talks with the prime minister.
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