As the Kerala BJP heads towards a leadership change, two names doing the rounds as the possible successor of state president K. Surendran are Sobha Surendran and M.T. Ramesh.

The BJP, which has no representation in the Kerala Assembly, has its task cut out to choose a leader who enjoys the support of the rank and file and the backing of the RSS as the head of the party in the state.

While Sobha is popular among the BJP’s women supporters for her fiery rhetoric, BJP state general secretary Ramesh is known for being soft-spoken.

There has been hectic lobbying for the post of Kerala BJP president for the last few months, notably from 51-year-old Sobha. Last Saturday, she met Union home minister Amit Shah in New Delhi.

Sobha, who is also a member of the BJP national executive, in a post on Facebook said the meeting had boosted her self-confidence to steer the party in the 2026 Assembly elections.

Sobha had been trying to become the first woman BJP state president over the last several years but the coveted post has always eluded her.

"The issue with Sobha is that she has always shown haste in getting the coveted post. If she had shown a little restraint, her graph would have escalated. But it’s high time a leader of her stature, who had always stood committed to the party, is appointed the state BJP president,” a senior BJP leader told The Telegraph.

Fifty-two-year-old Ramesh’s attempt to become the Kerala BJP chief was torpedoed by a section within the party in 2017 that alleged that he had taken a bribe to secure recognition for a private media college founded by a charitable trust in Varkala. However, the internal probe committee later gave him a clean chit.

“Both Sobha and Ramesh have got the support of the Kerala RSS leadership. It’s going to be a tough call for the national BJP leadership as both are excellent leaders who can steer the state BJP in the local bodies election and Assembly election, which are due in December 2025 and April 2026, respectively,” the senior BJP leader said.

A decision on Surendran’s successor would be taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Shah, national BJP president J.P. Nadda and BJP national general secretary (organisation) B.L. Santhosh. The new state president is likely to be announced by the end of this month.