The BJP’s first mayoral stint in Kerala’s capital Thiruvananthapuram begins with the promise of clean governance and living up to citizens’ expectations. As V.V. Rajesh, who was elected mayor of the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation, told INDIA TODAY: “My priorities are to provide a clean administration and make Thiruvananthapuram clean and green. We are expecting Prime Minister Narendra Modi here in January and anticipating some mega announcements for the development of the city and the state. The people of Thiruvananthapuram will not regret voting for the BJP.”
BJP state secretary Rajesh’s colleague and councillor G.S. Asha Nath has been elected deputy mayor. The saffron surge in the Thiruvananthapuram corporation polls, which saw the BJP win 50 of the 101 seats and end the Left Democratic Front’s (LDF) 45-year-long control, marks a landmark advance for the party that only last year lost the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat by 16,000-odd votes.
The LDF won 29 seats in the corporation and the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) 19. Two seats went to Independents while the Vizhinjam ward election was postponed following the death of independent candidate Justin Francis.
The choice of Rajesh for mayor has the imprint of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) whereas BJP state chief Rajeev Chandrasekhar had pitched for R. Sreelekha, the first woman IPS officer in the state, who won from the Sasthamangalam ward.
“The Sangh worked silently through the civic poll campaign. It classified the wards into three categories based on the winning potential of BJP candidates. Senior RSS leaders monitored the campaign and reviewed strategies,” said a senior BJP leader, requesting anonymity.
“We campaigned aggressively in the wards where the BJP is strong to increase the margin of victory while opting for cross-voting strategies elsewhere to defeat the LDF. It has helped us emerge as the single largest party in the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation,” the leader said.
The BJP’s strategy may have even helped the UDF snatch a few seats from the Left. “The BJP victory is a signal of the mood ahead of the assembly polls. The Sangh’s campaign certainly helped consolidate the Hindu votes,” said G.K. Sureshbabu, vice-president of the Kerala Temple Protection Council based in Thiruvananthapuram. According to him, Hindu consolidation, along with Catholic voters’ support, fashioned the BJP’s performance.
Poll watchers say the Sangh’s outreach had focused on devotees and visitors to the 40 temples under its control in the city. The Sabarimala gold loot case was made a key rallying point.
Dominance in the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation is a morale-booster for the BJP that has otherwise not fared well in the recent local self-government polls. The prized stature of Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala politics only raises the stakes in the upcoming state election and reminds the ruling LDF and challenger UDF not to take the BJP as a distant third force.
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