VV Rajesh elected as first BJP mayor in Kerala

BJP leader VV Rajesh was elected mayor of Thiruvananthapuram Corporation on Friday after the saffron party won 50 of the 101 wards, marking its first-ever victory in a municipal corporation in Kerala. In the mayoral election on Friday, Rajesh secured 51 votes, including the support of an independent councillor. Earlier, it was expected that the BJP would field former DGP R Sreelkha as the mayor candidate.

RP Sivaji of the LDF received 29 votes, while UDF candidate KS Sabarinathan secured 19 votes, of which two were later declared invalid.

Senior BJP leaders, including State President Rajeev Chandrasekhar, were present at the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation office to witness Rajesh being elected mayor of the State Capital. Union Minister Suresh Gopi and former BJP State president K Surendran were also present.

Rajesh later took the oath as the Mayor of the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation. The BJP wrested control of the Corporation from the LDF after nearly four decades of LDF rule. He said he would see the 101 wards of the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation as a single unit and move forward together by holding everyone together.

“Our target is to make Thiruvananthapuram one of the top three cities in the country in terms of development. We seek the cooperation of all to achieve this target,” he said. BJP State president Rajeev Chandrasekhar said it was a historic day for the party in Kerala. He said the mayor was selected by the party leadership and ruled out any controversy over not electing former DGP R Sreelekha for the post.

Union Minister Suresh Gopi said the BJP should have come to power in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation in the 2020 local body elections. “The factors that prevented that have been squared away this time,” he said. Asked about the possibility of the BJP coming to power in the 2026 Assembly elections in the wake of the victory in the capital city, Gopi said the party would make step-by-step progress through hard work.

In Kollam Corporation, UDF’s A K Hafeez was elected mayor, while in Kochi Corporation, UDF councillor V K Minimol, a four-time councillor, was elected mayor. In Thrissur Corporation, Dr Niji Justin of the UDF was elected mayor, prompting dissent from another councillor, Lali James, who alleged she was denied the post after leaders took bribes. In Kozhikode Corporation, the LDF won most wards, while in Kannur Corporation, UDF candidate P Indira is set to be elected as the mayor of the six municipal corporations in the state, the UDF won four, while the LDF and BJP won one each.

Apart from the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, the BJP also won in the Municipalities of Tripunithura and Palakkad. In the evening, elections to the deputy mayor and vice-chairperson posts were held at the Corporations and Municipalities.