Actor Suresh Gopi nominated to RS

Malayalam actor Suresh Gopi yesterday offered prayers at a temple here and thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for nominating him to the Rajya Sabha.
“This is not a political decision, it’s a non-political one... our prime minister has nominated me,” the 56-year-old Gopi, who has acted in over 250 films, told reporters.
He was accompanied to the temple by former federal minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader O Rajagopal.
“This should have come earlier, but now that it has come, it’s good,” said Rajagopal, who was a member of the upper house of parliament and a minister in the Atal Behari Vajpayee government.
Gopi was promised the post of chairman of the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) last year, but it failed to materialise.
The BJP also tried to field him in the upcoming assembly polls, but the actor was non-committal. He, however, agreed to campaign for the party in Kerala.
Of the 12 nominated members in the upper house, there are seven vacancies at the moment and Gopi will be one of the new entrants.
Gopi was last week summoned to Delhi and his name was finalised after a meeting with BJP president Amit Shah.
The BJP’s national leadership feels the nomination would give  a much needed boost to the party to open its account in the 140-member Kerala assembly, as all top leaders of the party in the state, including Rajagopal, are contesting the polls.