Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 12 (IANS): Former Mizoram Governor Kummanam Rajasekharan was on Tuesday given a rousing reception by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Sangh Parivar workers when he arrived here.

The BJP is most likely to pit Rajasekharan against Congress' Shashi Tharoor in the Lok Sabha polls here.

After calling on top BJP leaders in Delhi, the 66-year-old arrived here to a noisy welcome by party leaders who gave Rajasekharan a ride in an open jeep through the capital's streets.

RSS strongman Rajasekharan was made the BJP President in 2015 and then appointed the Governor.

The BJP has never won a Lok Sabha seat from Kerala and it hopes Rajasekharan will open the account.

Although the BJP has not named any candidate, Rajasekharan said he was confident of winning the Lok Sabha battle.

"People in Kerala have been cheated by the traditional rivals (Congress and Left) and they desire a change."

In the last Lok Sabha K.J. Alphons was nominated a member of the Rajya Sabha and given the cabinet berth as Minister of State for Tourism.

In 2009, on Tharoor's first outing, he won the polls with a margin of close to one lakh votes. In 2014, the Congress' margin fell to around 15,000 votes. BJP's Rajagopal finished a close second while the CPI was far behind.

In 2016, Rajasekharan put up a close fight but finished second in Vatiyurkavu Assembly seat.