An LDF worker attended the victory parade at Pandalam on Saturday. | Photo credit: LEJU KAMAL
In the end, the verdict of the local elections in Pandalam, the lone municipality that has been ruled by the BJP in South Kerala for the last five years, tells a very different story than the party had hoped for.
Rather than consolidating the upper caste Hindu vote against the Left Democratic Front (LDF), Saturday’s result revealed a sharp erosion in the saffron party’s support base.
The party’s heavy reliance on Sabarimala sentiment failed spectacularly and instead of consolidating upper caste Hindu votes against the Left Democratic Front (LDF), the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance saw its seat share drop from 18 in 2020 to just nine.
The failure extended to Kulanada, a neighboring local body held by the BJP for 15 years. Here, the LDF has grown to eight wards, while the NDA and Others managed only four and the United Democratic Front managed a single seat.
The political equations at Pandalam, the civic body under the long shadow of the Sabarimala hill, have long been intertwined with the currents of the hill shrine. The BJP came to power here after an agitation in 2018 against women entering the hill shrine. This time the party was primarily pinning its hopes on the Sabarimala gold scam to stoke Hindu sentiment. But the gamble failed.
The sudden shifting of seats left local BJP leaders scrambling for an explanation. “A detailed analysis is yet to be done, but the results highlight the urgent need to strengthen the party at the grassroots level,” acknowledged a senior BJP functionary.
Behind the party’s poor performance lies a tangle of missteps, including poor candidate selection, a lack of sustained organizational work, and an inability to present a credible alternative. “Behind Sabarimala, the BJP had little to show. Internal dissent over candidate selection and growing friction with the RSS only added to the woes,” another senior source noted.
Symbolically, the group also stumbled in Sabarimala ward of Ranni-Perunad panchayat, including a hill shrine. Here, the BJP candidate was relegated to the third position as the LDF eventually secured victory in a coin toss. The LDF also won the local body with 10 seats.
Published – 13 Dec 2025 21:00 IST
