Back in 2020, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was confident of capturing power at the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, ruled by the Left Democratic Front for around four decades. The confidence was built on their performance in the previous elections in 2015, when they increased their seats from a mere six to 35 in the 100-member council. To make clear their intent, the party had fielded V.V. Rajesh, one of its prominent faces in the State, and projected him as a possible Mayor candidate.
Though Mr. Rajesh won that election, the BJP failed to improve its standing, almost staying static at 34 seats. Five years later, the BJP finally came on top, winning 50 seats, just one short of the majority figure. It also became the first ever win in a Corporation in Kerala for the party.
The BJP campaign focused on the development of Thiruvananthapuram, offering to place a blueprint in just 45 days of assuming office, as announced by BJP State president Rajeev Chandrasekhar during electioneering. Mr. Rajesh was just one among the many contenders for the Mayor’s post, most prominent among them being R. Sreelekha, former Director-General of Police, who joined the BJP in 2024.
Until a day before the mayoral election on December 26, Ms. Sreelekha was strongly tipped to take over. However, the scales tipped in favour of Mr. Rajesh at the last minute as a section of the BJP leadership stood firm for him, considering his long years of experience in building the party at the grassroots level in the district. Though Ms. Sreelekha made her displeasure public, especially by leaving the council hall in a huff soon after the swearing in, the ever-diplomatic Mr. Rajesh was quick to mollify her by visiting her at her residence.
