Thiruvananthapuram Gives BJP Foothold in Kerala Politics

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With 50 municipal wards in the kitty, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will install a mayor from the party ranks in Kerala’s political capital.

By TRH Political Desk

New Delhi, December 13, 2025 — While the Congress-led UDF won the local body elections in Kerala, the BJP is hogging the limelight by winning Thiruvananthapuram. With 50 municipal wards in the kitty, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will install a mayor from the party ranks in Kerala’s political capital.

The BJP’s sweep in Thiruvananthapuram has come after decades of so-near-but-still-far-away fortunes of the saffron outfit. The BJP victory also puts Congress MP Shashi Tharoor in a spot. He has narrowly beaten the BJP nominees in past Lok Sabha elections.

The win also helps the BJP to send out a clear message to the electorate in Kerala that the party is not a subject of curiosity. The BJP is asserting now to grab the third pole in Kerala politics.

The BJP top guns, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, credited the victory to hundreds of party workers who bore the brunt of “political violence.” For decades, the BJP’s ideological mentor, the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), carried silent work in Kerala—to shift the binary narrative of the state politics towards multipolarity.

Former IPS officer R. Sreelekha, who won Sansthamangalam ward, is projected to be the next mayor of Thiruvananthapuram. The BJP backed her as a disrupter in the city.

The BJP had polled 16.68% votes in 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Kerala. The saffron outfits aims to raise vote share in the state to 33% next year. The BJP’s all BDJS had polled 2.56% votes. Together, the NDA had commanded a healthy 19.24%. The Congress-led UDF had swept the general elections with over 45% votes in 2024.

The BJP may still have miles to go before seriously entertaining the idea of winning Kerala. But the party seems to have pleased the Congress, as the saffron outfit appears to have dented the Left vote base.

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