Minister or not? Suresh Gopi's flip-flop day

A day after being sworn in as a minister of state, Thrissur MP Suresh Gopi sparked speculation about his exit from the Union council of ministers, but later insisted that reports of his resignation from PM Modi’s team were “grossly incorrect”.

According to sources, Gopi was disappointed at being appointed only an MoS, despite having scripted a historic win for the BJP in Kerala, winning the Thrissur seat by a margin of over 74,000 votes over his Congress and Communist Party of India rivals.

“A few media platforms are spreading the incorrect news that I am going to resign from the Council of Ministers of the Modi Government. This is grossly incorrect. Under the leadership of PM @narendramodi Ji we are committed to the development and prosperity of Kerala,” said Gopi in an X post on Monday afternoon.

Earlier, he had told the media that he expected to be relieved soon from his ministerial role. “I expect I will be relieved from the Union ministry. I have to finish my movies. Let the Central leadership decide. As the MP of Thrissur, I will perform to the best of my abilities. I had maintained that I do not want a cabinet position,” Gopi had said.

When he was called to Delhi to be sworn in as a minister, Gopi had informed the BJP Central leadership that he was contractually obligated to complete the films he had signed, one of them based on the history of the Padmanabhaswamy temple.

Asked about earlier reports that he was unhappy at being appointed a minister of state and not a cabinet minister, Gopi told reporters on Monday. “I had not demanded anything. I had said I didn’t want it (Union ministry role). I think I will be relieved soon. As an MP for Thrissur, I can play a very important role. I have to do films. Let them (BJP leadership) decide,” he said.

BJP Kerala president K. Surendran also declined to comment on his remarks. “The PM has made him a minister. These matters do not come under my jurisdiction. Please don’t trouble me with these questions,” Surendran said.

With Gopi's inclusion in the Modi 3.0 government, the BJP wants to show its seriousness about its plans for Kerala, which will be going to the polls in 2026. PM Modi also inducted George Kurian, an advocate and Kerala BJP general secretary, into his 71-member council of ministers.

Kurian, who belongs to the influential Syro-Malabar Church, has been the Kerala BJP’s organisation man for the last four decades. He served as vice-chairman of the national commission for minorities and the officer on special duty (OSD) to veteran BJP leader O. Rajagopal during his term as Union minister under the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.

Gopi joined the BJP at PM Modi’s insistence in October 2016 after being nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the Centre under the Arts category. During his stint in the Upper House, he chose Thiruvananthapuram as his nodal district and implemented various development projects using the MPLADS funds.

He first contested the Thrissur Lok Sabha election in 2019 and lost, with a 28 per cent vote share. Two years later, he contested the Thrissur Assembly election and lost that too before winning the Lok Sabha seat last week with a 38 per cent vote share.