Malayalam superstar Mohanlal endorses Kerala BJP's CM face 'Metroman' E Sreedharan

Scooping a major endorsement, 'Metroman' E Sreedharan on Friday was backed by Malayalam megastar Mohanlal in the upcoming Kerala Assembly polls. Backing Sreedharan, Mohanlal commends Metroman's success in constructing the Pamban bridge, Konkan Railways, several cities' metros while listing the various laurels he has received, in a video shared by Sreedharan. Kerala is set to go to polls on April 6, with the results to be announced on May 2. 

Metroman endorsed by Malayalam megastar Mohanlal

"We have a personality of whom all Indians can be proud of and that is E Sreedharan sir. It was his willpower due to which the Pamban Bridge that was damaged in the storm was rebuilt in a span of 46 days. At a time when the world thought it was next to impossible, he turned the Konkan railway into a reality. He is a national architect who had  led the construction of metro rails in major cities of India including Delhi and Kochi", said Mohanlal adding, "We still need his services to lead the country on new paths of development and I wish all the best to Sreedharan Sir."

'Metro Man' BJP's CM Face

On March 4, heading to "Metro Man" E Sreedharan's call to be BJP's CM face, the saffron party's Kerala chief K Surendran announced that the 88-year old was the party's Kerala CM face. Sreedharan officially joined BJP in Kerala in the presence of Union Minister RK Singh at Changaramkulam's 'Vijaya Yatra' on February 25. While BJP's core committee has not announced him as CM pick, PM Narendra Modi has held a rally in Palakkad canvassing votes for Sreedharan.

Speaking to Republic TV, Sreedharan said, "After I left Delhi metro in 2011, I moved to Kerala and I have been living in Kerala for the last 9 years. I have seen the Congress-led UDF and CPM-led LDF governments under CPM. Both governments are only interested in party politics, and not the state as such. Moreover, there is a lot of rampant corruption under both governments. The state suffered and was not getting any tangible benefits from the governments." Strategising BJP's rule, he said that the focus of the saffron party will be to remove Kerala from the debt trap, develop infrastructure. Moreover, he said that he was not interested in governorship as he won't be able to contribute to state in such a 'constitutional' position with no powers at all. 

About 'Metro Man'

E Sreedharan - fondly known as 'Metro Man' has been credited for transforming public transport in India during his tenure as managing director of Konkan Railway and the Delhi Metro between 1995 to 2012. Apart from implementing, planning, and design India's first-ever metro - the Kolkata Metro in 1970, Sreedharan was the pioneer of several other government projects like Cochin Shipyard, Konkan Railway, Delhi Metro during his working career.

Post-retirement from the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), he was appointed Principal Advisor of the Kochi Metro Rail Project which was completed in 2017. After that project, he was appointed principal advisor to the Lucknow metro which began in 2017 and has one operational line. He also aided in several other metro projects in Jaipur, Vizag, Vijayawada, and Coimbatore, but are yet to be completed. Recently, he voiced his wish to join BJP and later voiced his displeasure against both LDF and UDF government to tackle 'Love Jihad' in Kerala - which has been a poll pitch for BJP since 2020.