BJP Ends CPI’s 45-Year Streak, Wins Kerala Capital’s Corporation

For the first time in Kerala’s political history, the BJP-led NDA has registered a victory in the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation, ending the CPI(M)-led LDF’s long-standing power for over 45 years in the state capital.

The BJP-led NDA won 50 seats in the 101-member Thiruvananthapuram municipal body. The ruling LDF secured 29 seats, while the Congress-led UDF managed to win just 19 seats. Two seats went to Independents.

These results can be seen as another major breakthrough for BJP in Kerala after Suresh Gopi’s victory at Thrissur which has been trying to make its mark for over the years.Thiruvananthapuram has always been strong power centre for LDF and the NDA’s victory here marks a significant shift in urban voting trends.

The win is expected to boost the BJP’s confidence as it prepares for the upcoming Kerala Assembly elections. Party leaders are now focusing more on urban constituencies such as Nemom, Vattiyoorkavu and Kazhakkoottam, which fall under the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation limits. T

Last year, in the 2024 parliamentary polls, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor retained the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat by defeating BJP candidate Rajeev Chandrasekhar by a very much less margin.  

While the BJP’s performance in Thiruvananthapuram was impressive, the party failed to repeat similar success in other urban centres and rural areas across the state in the current local body polls across the state. 

The BJP’s steady rise in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation could be seen as the district is always considered to be the highly populated Hindu demography in the state and definitely that was clearly evident in securing a good votebank for the party.

In the 2010 elections, the party had only six councillors. This number rose sharply to 35 in 2015, slightly dipped to 34 in 2020, and has now peaked with the NDA clinching control of the civic body that is a clear sign of changing political dynamics in Kerala’s capital.