Retired in 2020 after an acrimonious relationship with the state government, Thomas had joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2021 and had unsuccessfully contested Assembly elections that year from a constituency in Thrissur. Thomas is one of the three former IPS officers in the state to be involved with the BJP in recent years, besides R Sreelekha (Retd IPS: 1987: KL) who had joined the BJP last year and T P Senkumar (Retd IPS: 1983: KL), who had entered the saffron fold in 2017, post their retirements. All three share a similar story in terms of their respective tenures as officers for had strained relations with the state government during their service period.

This also assumes significance as the BJP is trying to expand its base in the poll-bound state, where its impact has so far been limited to the lone victories of Suresh Gopi in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Thrissur, and O Rajagopal in the 2016 assembly poll in Nemom constituency, besides a few local elections.