Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader M T Ramesh announced on Monday that the party will conduct a thorough examination of the dip in its vote share during the recently concluded local body elections in Kerala. The analysis will compare the results with the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and the previous local body elections held in 2020.
NDA's Progress and Allegations of Collusion
Ramesh, the BJP state general secretary, addressed the media in Kannur following a crucial state leadership meeting. While acknowledging the need to review the vote share, he emphasized that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the BJP has made significant strides. The coalition secured a comfortable majority to assume power in numerous local bodies across the state, including the prestigious Thiruvananthapuram corporation.
He launched a sharp attack on the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the opposition United Democratic Front (UDF), accusing them of forming an unofficial alliance to block the BJP's advance. "The CPM and Congress joined hands to defeat the BJP in many local bodies across the state," Ramesh alleged. He claimed this collaboration happened in approximately 3,000 wards.
Providing specific instances, he stated that in Kasaragod, the CPI(M) refrained from fielding candidates in several wards to support Congress nominees. Conversely, in other wards, the UDF withdrew its candidates to ensure victories for the Left party. "We can prove with evidence that CPM and Congress stood together against BJP in Pandalam municipality," he asserted.
Seat Gains and Claiming the People's Mandate
Ramesh highlighted that the BJP's performance showed clear improvement compared to the 2020 local body elections, both in terms of seats won and the number of civic bodies captured. This time, the NDA managed to secure a majority in 41 panchayats. He pointed out that in Palakkad and Tripunithura municipalities, the BJP emerged as the single largest party.
"Hence, NDA has the right to rule these civic bodies. Other parties should be ready to accept the people's mandate," Ramesh stated firmly. He conceded that the UDF benefited from an anti-incumbency wave against the state government but stressed that the BJP still managed to improve its performance despite this trend.
Historic Win and Post-Poll Alliances Criticized
The BJP leader underscored a historic victory in Thrissur, where the party fielded a Muslim woman candidate in a seat considered its stronghold. She won the councillor position with a substantial margin. "It is the first time a Muslim woman became a councillor in Thrissur corporation. Neither the LDF nor the UDF ever gave a winnable seat to a Muslim woman there," Ramesh remarked.
He also criticized the attempts by the LDF and UDF to form post-poll alliances in various local bodies to keep the BJP out of power. Calling such moves "anti-democratic," he argued that if parties intend to form alliances, they must declare them before the elections, not after the results are declared.
Regarding the upcoming mayor position in Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, Ramesh indicated that the state leadership would announce its candidate after consultations with the district unit. The high-level meeting in Kannur was attended by prominent leaders including BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar, senior leader Prakash Javadekar, national vice-president A P Abdulla Kutty, and former state presidents.
