The results of Kerala civic elections were pleasing for BJP. The saffron party was seen making holes in this remaining fort on the left. BJP has registered a historic victory in Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation. BJP led NDA won 50 seats of this corporation having 101 wards. BJP is very excited by Shashi Tharoor’s parliamentary constituency and corporation victory in the capital of Kerala. Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself has congratulated the BJP workers on this performance by posting on social media platform X.
This civic election is also important because it is being seen as the semi-final of power before the assembly elections to be held next year. However, here the power rotates between the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) and the CPM-led Left Democratic Front (LDF). However, the results of the last assembly elections were shocking because here LDF returned to power with a landslide victory.
How many wards did NDA get?
However, except in Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation and two municipalities, Tripunithura and Palakkad, the NDA failed to convert this increased ward figure into a large-scale victory. The reason was that BJP’s victory remained scattered in different areas and could not be so concentrated that it could capture more local bodies.
Why are BJP’s allies increasing tension?
Of the total 1,919 ward wins of the NDA, almost all the seats went to the BJP. Its main ally Bharatiya Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS) got only five wards, four of which are in panchayats. This also makes it clear that the real strength of NDA in Kerala is currently limited to BJP only.
BJP won a total of 93 corporation wards, of which 50 came from Thiruvananthapuram alone. But an important fact is that BJP could not gain lead in even one of the 346 District Panchayat wards. District panchayats are considered larger and more politically organized constituencies, where the party’s poor performance is a matter of concern in the upcoming assembly elections, especially outside the Thiruvananthapuram urban area.
If Congress is happy then why is the Left’s tension increased?
BJP definitely won 324 wards in the municipalities, but it did not get a clear majority in any municipality. In Tripunithura, BJP became the largest party with 21 wards, while the Left Democratic Front (LDF) was right behind with 20 wards. BJP also suffered a setback in Palakkad municipality, where it was in power for the last decade, this time it got only 25 wards out of 53, which is less than the earlier 28. This clearly reflects anti-incumbency at the local level.
Meanwhile, the United Democratic Front (UDF) took the lead by winning 7,816 wards across the state, while the CPM-led LDF stood second with 7,454 wards. UDF ally Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) maintained its strong hold by winning 2,844 wards, while CPI got 1,018 wards.
The 2025 local body elections were held in two phases on 9 and 11 December and the counting of votes took place on 13 December. In the results, UDF captured four out of six corporations of Kochi, Kollam, Thrissur and Kannur and also dominated the municipalities and gram panchayats. The ruling LDF, which was in power in five corporations in 2020, was reduced to just Kozhikode this time and after 45 years, it also lost Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation to the NDA.
Overall, the victory in Thiruvananthapuram is definitely a morale booster for the BJP and it has given a message to the party that there is political ground for it in Kerala. But the statewide results show that despite slight gains in wards, BJP and NDA still have a long way to go to ‘conquer’ Kerala.
