Thiruvananthapuram, May 30 (IANS): Kerala BJP President V. Muraleedharan is set to join Prime Minister Narendra Modi's new ministry.

"I always worked among the people. With this new responsibility, I will continue to work for the upliftment of the people," Muraleedharan told the media after he got a call from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) to reach New Delhi.

His aide Deepu told IANS: "We are all surprised. We never expected this Ministership. Now all of us are excited and happy."

In March 2018, Muraleedharan became the first BJP leader from Kerala to be nominated to the Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra.

Muraleedharan, who belongs to the Hindu Ezhava community, was in his school days an active member of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP).

He came second in the Kazhakootam Assembly constituency in 2016, pushing the Congress to the third position.

The BJP in Kerala has just one legislator in the 140-member Kerala Assembly and none in the Lok Sabha.