The Congress-led UDF staged a strong comeback in Kerala’s local body elections, unseating the Left-led LDF in a majority of the panchayats, municipalities, and corporations, putting the alliance on firm footing ahead of the Assembly elections in the southernmost Indian state.

However, the UDF’s celebrations were dampened by the BJP’s victory in the Thiruvananthapuram municipal corporation election, its first win in a municipal corporation in the state.

Let’s explain how the BJP ousted the Left from Kerala's capital after over four decades.

How did the BJP orchestrate the elusive victory in Thiruvananthapuram?

The BJP’s organisational strength was on full display in the capital, where it registered a historic victory after 45 years and dislodged the Left from one of its traditional strongholds.

The party won 50 of the 101 wards in the state’s largest corporation, a landmark moment for saffron politics as it dismantled one of the Left’s biggest urban bastions in Kerala.

The LDF was reduced to 29 seats, while the Congress-led UDF increased its tally from 10 wards in 2020 to 19 this year.

Under the leadership of Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the saffron party concentrated its election resources in Hindu-majority areas of central and southern Kerala instead of spreading them across the state.

The NDA’s strategy rested on two pillars. First, it fought the election on a development plank, with “Viksit Kerala” as its core slogan. The BJP president himself held citywide interactions titled “Viksit Talks,” which helped the party establish a foothold in the corporation.

Two promises, in particular, drew attention. One was that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would personally outline a development blueprint for Thiruvananthapuram within 45 days of the BJP council taking office. The other was a commitment to ensure doorstep delivery of corporation services.

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