New Delhi, May 6: Will the lotus finally bloom in God’s own country?

The BJP is pulling out all the stops to open its account in Kerala, which is the only state south of the Vindhiyas that has not returned any BJP MP despite having more Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh shakhas than any other state except Uttar Pradesh.

The National Democratic Alliance has fielded two Union ministers and a former minister for the May 10 Lok Sabha elections. Two of the three candidates will fight on the BJP’s lotus symbol.

P.C. Thomas, Union minister of state for law and justice, who was expelled from the Kerala Congress (Mani) and floated the Indian Federal Democratic Party, is contesting from Muvattupuzha as an NDA candidate.

Rajya Sabha MP . Rajagopal, the minister of state for defence, is in the fray from Thiruvananthapuram. S. Krishna Kumar, a minister in the Rajiv Gandhi and Narasimha Rao governments who joined the BJP recently, is contesting from Mavelikara.

Observers say the BJP presence may help Left candidates as it would split the Congress-led United Democratic Front votes.

Thomas is seen to be on a strong wicket in Christian-dominated Muvattupuzha, which he has won the last five times by huge margins

Analysts say K.M. Mani, a revenue minister in the A.K. Antony government with considerable standing among local Christians, will do his utmost to get his son, Jose K. Mani, elected. But if Christian votes are split between Thomas and Jose, Left Democratic Front nominee P.M. Ismail may emerge winner. The CPM can bank on the votes of its cadre and as well as a sizeable chunk of Muslim votes.

In Thiruvananthapuram, three forward Nairs are in the fray, with Rajagopal topping the bill. CPI stalwart and former chief minister P.K. Vasudevan Nair and sitting Congress MP V.S. Sivakumar are his chief Nair rivals.

As minister for railways and urban development in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, Rajagopal initiated many development schemes in Kerala. Sivakumar bagged 288,000 votes last time, with the CPI’s Kaniyapuram Ramachandran polling 273,905; Rajagopal bagged 158,221 votes.

The LDF is hoping the “additional” votes Rajagopal wins will hurt the UDF and is banking on differences in the Congress and communal equations in the area to win the seat it lost narrowly five years ago. Sivakumar is popular, but may not get full Congress backing as he is a protégé of Antony’s arch-rival, K. Karunakaran.