In big breakthrough in Kerala, BJP wins capital Thiruvananthapuram, ends Left’s 45-year reign
Riding on development plank, BJP led by Rajeev Chandrasekhar focused on Thiruvananthapuram civic body, even as it could not perform well in other urban or rural belts in the local body polls
Under the leadership of its state unit president Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the BJP sought to put forward its development agenda in the local body elections. (Photo: X/@RajeevRC_X) 
For the first time, the BJP-led NDA registered a victory in the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation, where the incumbent CPI(M)-led LDF has ruled for the last 45 years.
The outcome of the Kerala local body polls Saturday showed the NDA winning 50 seats out of the Thiruvananthapuram civic body’s 101 wards as against the ruling LDF’s 29 and the principal Opposition Congress-led UDF’s 19, with two seats going to Independents. The election in one seat was cancelled after the death of a candidate last week.
Clinching the corporation in the state capital would boost the BJP’s confidence as it is stepping up its preparations to contest the upcoming Assembly elections from the urban constituencies like Nemom, Vattiyoorkavu and Kazhakkoottam — which fall in areas under the Thiruvananthapuram civic body — where the party had led in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Senior Congress MP Shashi Tharoor had retained his Thiruvananthapuram parliamentary seat in 2024 by defeating the BJP’s Rajeev Chandrasekhar, even though the BJP had pulled off its first win in the Lok Sabha polls by winning the Thrissur seat, where its nominee Suresh Gopi emerged the victor.
In the current Kerala local body polls, the BJP, however, could not display a good showing in other urban pockets or rural belts in the state.
The BJP mainly focused on the Thiruvananthapuram civic body, where it has a strong Hindutva vote bank right from 1980s. The party has been steadily improving its performance in this corporation. In the 2010 elections here, BJP had got only six councillors elected. In 2015, the BJP improved its tally to 35, which came down to 34 in 2020 with the party still emerging as the principal Opposition.
Under the leadership of its state unit president Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the BJP sought to put forward its development agenda in the local body elections. It brought out an election manifesto for the Thiruvananthapuram corporation, proposing a roadmap for the development of the capital.
It was the first local body elections after Chandrasekhar took charge of the party unit. On the eve of polls, he said: “We are the only party which has focused on development politics.’’
Ahead of the elections, the BJP was jolted by the suicide of a sitting party councillor named Anil Kumar who raised allegations against the party leaders with regard to an alleged fund scam in a cooperative body. Besides, an RSS worker had also ended his life over alleged denial of a seat to contest. Although its rivals raised these issue in their campaigns, the BJP managed to counter them while ensuring that it did not alienate the RSS cadre.
While the UDF mainly raked up political issues and scams to target the LDF, Chandrasekhar ensured that his party’s narrative was centred on “vikasita (developed) Thiruvananthapuram”.
The BJP also tapped into the Hindu sentiments against the alleged involvement of the Left leaders in the “theft” of gold from temple artefacts from the Sabarimala temple. When the CPI(M) raked up the rape cases against the expelled Congress MLA Rahul Mamkootathil, the BJP said it was the CPI(M)’s tactic to distract attention from this gold theft scandal.
The BJP also fielded senior party leaders for grassroots level campaign for the NDA candidates. The party also promised that if it wins the Thiruvananthapuram corporation, it would bring Prime Minister Narendra Modi to declare the development plan of the state capital within 45 days.
The BJP also sought to expose the corruption of the CPI(M)-led corporation led by Arya Rajendran, who was the youngest mayor in the country in 2020. Along with development, the BJP pledged a “corruption-free civic body” too.
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