Voters have changed, and we have benefited
THE WEEK India|June 16, 2024
In March 2022, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu asked a quirky question to actor-MP Suresh Gopi, who had come to the Rajya Sabha with a distinctive look.
NIRMAL JOVIAL
Voters have changed, and we have benefited

His beard was all grey, while his moustache was fully black.

“Is that a mask or a beard?” Naidu asked Gopi. Laughter erupted and Gopi, who was nominated to the house by the president in 2016, responded respectfully. “Beard, sir,” he said. “My new look, sir, for the next film.”

Detractors say Gopi’s humility and benevolence hide his hardcore hindutva mindset. The Lok Sabha results on June 4, however, showed that voters did not share the perception. Gopi made history by winning the Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency by a margin of 74,686 votes. He became the first BJP candidate to win a Lok Sabha seat in Kerala. Soon after the results, he appeared in his 2022 look and thanked the voters.

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