Kerala: VV Rajesh elected Thiruvananthapuram's 1st-ever mayor from BJP
What's the story
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) scripted history in Kerala as VV Rajesh became the first-ever party leader to be elected mayor of the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation. The councilor of Thiruvananthapuram's Kodunganoor ward won with 51 votes, including support from an independent member, beating United Democratic Front (UDF) and Left Democratic Front (LDF) candidates in the race. The party's landmark victory in the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation elections earlier this month ended decades-long Left domination in the civic body.
Political career
Rajesh's political journey and support from RSS
Rajesh, a lawyer by profession, is a BJP state secretary and a prominent organizational leader. He has previously served as the party's Thiruvananthapuram district president and was also the state chief of the BJP Yuva Morcha. Later, in the 2021 Kerala Assembly elections, he contested from the Vattiyoorkavu constituency, but finished second with 39,596 votes. His name was finalized for the Thiruvananthapuram mayoral race after intervention from Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), reports said.
Election results
BJP's historic win in Thiruvananthapuram Corporation
In the December 9 election, the BJP won 50 out of 101 wards in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, breaking a Left stronghold that lasted around four decades. The Congress-led UDF had also made gains by doubling its seat tally, but the three-cornered contest ultimately favored the BJP. Senior BJP leaders, including state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar, were present at the corporation office to witness Rajesh's election as the Thiruvananthapuram mayor.
Election outcomes
Other municipal corporation results in Kerala
As for the other municipal corporation elections in Kerala, the UDF won in Kollam and Kochi, while the LDF won in Kozhikode. The UDF has won four out of six municipal corporations across the state. In Pala municipality, Diya Binu Pulikkankandam became Kerala's youngest municipal chairperson at 21 with UDF support. The BJP also won municipalities of Tripunithura and Palakkad apart from the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation.