Senior state leaders including P K Krishnadas, M T Ramesh and Sobha Surendran who were front-runners for the post were left red-faced. In July, Kerala BJP leadership was caught in a soup after a medical college scam surfaced in the state, exposing the involvement of some senior party leaders. Under fire from Amit Shah, the state unit then had to expel one of their prominent faces. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah gave Kerala a surprise Onam gift in September- when they made Alphons Kannanthanamb a Union minister. However, the state unit seemed displeased and did not hold any celebration for his swearing-in.

Source: India Today October 06, 2017 06:12 UTC