BJP candidates for the upcoming local body elections posed for photographs with the party’s Kerala unit chief Rajeev Chandrasekhar at its state headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday. The BJP has announced its first set of candidates for the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation elections. | Photo credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has announced its first list of candidates for the local body elections for the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, which includes several high profile candidates. Former Director General of Police (DGP) R. Sreelekha and athlete Padmini Thomas are among the 67 candidates announced by state BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Sunday.
A large number of councillors, including VV Rajesh, MR Gopan, P Ashokkumar, Ashanath GS, Karamana Ajith, VG Girikumar, Papanamcode Saji and Simi Jyothish, will contest again, though most of them will switch seats as the wards are reserved for women in the by-terms. K. Maheswaran Nair and Thampanoor Satheesh, who had moved from the Congress in recent years, were also included in the original list. The candidate list also has some fresh faces.
The BJP’s candidate declarations did not go down well with its National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ally Bharath Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS). Immediately after the announcement, the BDJS district leadership made their displeasure clear and expressed their determination to compete independently. BDJS, which competed in one department in 2020, claimed eleven seats this time. However, three of the wards announced on Sunday – Edavacode, Ulloor and Mannanthala – were among the eleven the party had demanded.
Mr. Chandrasekhar said the 35 BJP councilors who won in 2020 had worked sincerely during the last five years to expose the corruption-ridden administration of the Left Democratic Front (LDF). “This time we will ask people to give us an opportunity to turn this city into ‘Vikasitu Ananthapuri’,” said Mr. Chandrasekhar.
Past failures
The BJP, which increased its tally from 6 seats in 2010 to 35 in 2015, was hoping to win power in the corporation in 2020. However, its tally remained static as the LDF improved its seats from 43 to 51 wards. In the five by-elections during this period, the BJP also did not win any and also lost one seat. The party is also beset by internal friction after former party spokesperson MS Kumar held the party leadership responsible for the death of Thiruvananthapuram Corporation councilor K. Anilkumar, who allegedly committed suicide in September this year following a financial crisis in the cooperative society he headed.
Published – 9 Nov 2025 20:02 IST
