Following its success in Kerala during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections when Union Minister Suresh Gopi won from the Thrissur constituency, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) made further inroads in the coastal state in the recent local body elections. The biggest sliver lining for the saffron party was in the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation where it gave a massive setback to ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF).
Of the 101 wards, the BJP won 50, while the LDF got restricted to 29. The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) was a distant third, winning 19 wards. Two independent candidates also won, while polling on one ward was postponed following the death of a candidate, according to the Kerala State Election Commission (SEC).
The saffron party also impressed in the Thrippunithura or Tripunithura Municipality, where it won 21 wards in close contest against the LDF, which won 20 wards. The UDF was once again a distant third with victory on 12 wards. The BJP also retained Palakkad Municipality for a third straight term, winning 25 wards, while the UDF won 17 wards.
In the Thrissur district, the BJP won 18 wards in the Kodungallur Municipality and eight in the Thrissur Municipal Corporation. Additionally, it also emerged victorious in 167 gram panchayats.
In total, the NDA has won 1919 wards across Kerala, as per the Kerala SEC. In the 2020 local body elections, the alliance had won 1,597 wards.
The NDA's performance will boost its morale ahead of the 2026 assembly elections in Kerala. The BJP had failed to win even a single seat in the 140-member Kerala Legislative Assembly in the 2021 elections, while the LDF retained power in the state, winning 99 seats. The UDF, on the other hand, had won 41 seats.
PM Modi hails NDA's performance
Terming the mandate received by the NDA a "watershed moment", Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the people are certain that the development aspirations of Kerala can only be addressed by the BJP. He also lauded the BJP workers, calling them the strength of the party.
"Thank you Thiruvananthapuram! The mandate the BJP-NDA got in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation is a watershed moment in Kerala's politics," he wrote on 'X'. "My gratitude to all hardworking BJP karyakartas who have worked among the people, which has ensured a spectacular result in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation."
BJP leader Prakash Javadekar, the party’s Kerala in-charge, said the results indicate a change in Kerala's political landscape, pointing out that things may change in the 2026 Assembly elections.
"It shows a change in Kerala politics and that the NDA is growing. It shows that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal has reached every nook and corner of Kerala," he said. "I am very confident that we will have many MLAs winning in April 2026."
