Thiruvananthapuram: With the morale boost received from the Lok Sabha polls in Kerala, the BJP is gearing up to reap its benefits in the 2025 local body polls and the 2026 assembly elections in the state.
Party national president J P Nadda came down for the BJP state leadership meeting held in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday to chalk out strategies for the local body polls. Having secured majority in 11 assembly segments in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the saffron party is trying to retain the trend.
Addressing the leadership meeting, Nadda said that the striking performance of the BJP in Kerala as well as other south Indian states was a reply given by the people to the Congress' attempts to spread a narrative that the BJP was a 'north Indian' party. Now BJP has marked its presence across the country, said Nadda, who is also the Union Health Minister.
Nadda highlighted the major leap in BJP's vote share in Kerala in the Lok Sabha polls, which reached 20 per cent, and said that the coming elections would witness further surge of BJP in Kerala. Apart from winning a seat to the Lok Sabha, the party secured 36 per cent vote share in Thiruvananthapuram and lost Attingal by only 16,000 votes. The BJP got lead in Thiruvananthapuram and Thrissur corporation limits and in six municipalities, the BJP leader said, pointing out the high chances for the party to win these local bodies in the 2025 local body polls.
At present BJP is in power at Palakkad municipality and around 20 panchayats in the state. BJP is the second largest party after the CPM-led Left Democratic Front in Thiruvananthapuram corporation.
BJP state president K Surendran alleged that the CPM was trying to take revenge on those who voted for the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls.
Surendran's statement came in the backdrop of the attack by CPM leaders against Hindu-Ezhava community leaders as well as some Christian priests. The Hindu-Ezhava votes were generally considered as pro-left. But during the Lok Sabha polls there was considerable shift in Hindu-Ezhava votes towards the BJP.
CPM has more reasons to worry as BJP considerably increased vote shares even in CPM strongholds of Kannur, including the polling station of chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
The local body polls are considered as the beginning of the run-up for the 2026 assembly elections. BJP secured majority in 11 assembly segments in this Lok Sabha polls. Hence the party is trying to retain the trend.