Hit hard by rows, internal rifts, Kerala BJP kicks off local poll campaign with house visits

When Narendra Modi was sworn in as the prime minister in 2014, BJP leaders from Kerala made a striking claim: they asserted that when Modi visited Thiruvananthapuram the following year, a BJP mayor would receive him at the airport – a prerogative traditionally reserved for the city's mayor.

The party was clearly eager to wrest control of the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation. In the 2015 local self-government (LSG) elections, the BJP managed to disrupt the United Democratic Front’s (UDF) dominance and emerged as the second-largest party in the corporation.

However, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), as the single-largest party, retained the mayor’s post despite not having an absolute majority.

In the 2020 polls, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) strengthened its position, while the BJP maintained its tally of 35 out of 100 seats. The Congress slipped further.

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BJP launches campaign early

Determined to seize control of the capital city in the 2025 polls which would take place around November-December, the saffron party has launched its campaign earlier than the other fronts. Its LSG election drive officially began on Wednesday (September 24) with a state-wide house-visit programme, flagged off by the BJP’s state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who visited families in Rajaji Nagar Colony in the heart of Thiruvananthapuram.

“For seven decades, power has alternated between the UDF and the LDF, and people are now weary of 10 continuous years under the LDF. They are looking for change, and we are presenting that alternative — a developed Kerala,” Chandrasekhar, also a former Union minister, said.

The BJP is also planning to form special units dedicated to migrant workers from other states who form an essential part of Kerala’s economy. With an estimated 30 lakh migrants in Kerala, the state BJP is working with party committees in West Bengal, Odisha, Assam, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to map migrant clusters.

He also described the campaign as the most extensive door-to-door outreach the party has attempted in Kerala.

Just a month ago, the BJP was in high spirits, confidently projecting victories in over 50 village panchayats, 10 to 20 municipalities, and three corporations, with Thiruvananthapuram and Thrissur considered near certainties.

Challenges staring at BJP

But a string of controversies later dampened that optimism, with the suicide of a sitting councillor in Thiruvananthapuram delivering a particularly severe setback.

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Last week, K Anil Kumar, the BJP councillor representing the Thirumala ward in Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, was found hanging in his ward council office. Police recovered a note indicating his anguish over the financial liabilities of the Valyasala Farm Society, a cooperative he was associated with.

For seven decades, power has alternated between the UDF and the LDF, and people are now weary of 10 continuous years under the LDF. They are looking for change, and we are presenting that alternative — a developed Kerala, says Chandrasekhar.

It suggested that, despite extending financial help to “our own people”, the deceased leader felt he did not receive sufficient support from the party leadership in managing the crisis.

The cooperative reportedly faced debts of around Rs 6 crore. The incident has generated a political storm, with the CPI(M) demanding that the BJP state leadership take responsibility for what it described as inaction and neglect of a grassroots representative.

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The BJP denied the allegations, with Chandrasekhar rejecting suggestions that the party had abandoned the councillor. The BJP counter-accused its rivals of exploiting his death for political gain.

Nevertheless, the issue has unsettled the party cadre and diverted attention from the early momentum of the campaign. Several scheduled programmes, including a youth-wing marathon event, had to be postponed.

Internal differences

Even internal disagreements and controversies have cast a shadow over the BJP’s preparations. One of the most visible disputes has arisen over the location of the proposed All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Kerala.

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Leaders from Thiruvananthapuram, Alappuzha, and Kasaragod have been pressing the central leadership to consider their respective districts for the project, resulting in a public tug-of-war. What could have been shown as a major achievement for the party has instead become a flashpoint, with critics highlighting the wrangling as evidence of factionalism.

Concerns over Suresh Gopi

Also, the party’s lone MP, Union minister Suresh Gopi, has increasingly become a concern with his maverick style, marked at times by actions and statements seen as lacking logic. His public-outreach programmes, including village visits and discussions on culverts, also landed in controversy when he declined to accept memorandums from two elderly residents, reportedly ridiculing them in the process.

The CPI(M) quickly seized the moment, stepping in to resolve the issues by offering a house to one and settling bank arrears linked to a troubled cooperative for the other.

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These have complicated the BJP’s ambitious plans for the LSG polls. For the party, expanding beyond pockets of influence requires both organisational discipline and public credibility. The controversies risk eroding the disciplined image it seeks to project and could weaken its cadre’s morale at a crucial stage.

BJP eyes migrant workers

The BJP, in a quest to boost its electoral prospects, is also planning to form special units dedicated to migrant workers from other states who form an essential part of Kerala’s economy.

With an estimated 30 lakh migrants in the state, the Kerala BJP unit is working with party committees in West Bengal, Odisha, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar to map migrant clusters and establish connections with them.

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However, its political opponents have suspected foul play with the electoral rolls in this plan.

“As of now, we have been maintaining strict vigil in our Assembly segment. The BJP has not been able to enrol anyone without proper residential credentials here. But I cannot say the same about other areas where migrants are present in large numbers and our people tend to be complacent,” said Habeeb Tanveer, a CPI(M) leader from Thrissur district.

Modest wins in 2020

In the 2020 LSG polls, the BJP had wrested power in 10 village panchayats out of a total of 941 across the state and two municipalities – Palakkad and Pandalam- while finishing second in Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram corporations.

Success in Thiruvananthapuram and Thrissur corporations, coupled with gains in gram panchayats and municipalities, could significantly alter the perception of the BJP’s viability in Kerala politics.

Those gains, though modest, were significant as they indicated that the BJP could no longer be dismissed as a non-factor in local politics. Pandalam, which neighbours the Sabarimala shrine and was under LDF rule, emerged as the saffron party's biggest gain in the last elections in the wake of the Sabarimala agitation over women’s entry.

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The landscape appears less favourable this time.

Prominent community organisations such as the Nair Service Society (NSS) and Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalanayogam (SNDP) have moved closer to the ruling LDF following the recent Global Ayyappa Conclave, with NSS general secretary G Sukumaran Nair openly criticising both the BJP and the Congress. Against such a background, retaining ground in Pandalam may not be as easy for the saffron camp.

Key battles

The contest in Thiruvananthapuram and Thrissur corporations, however, is being treated as particularly important.

Both cities are seen as gateways to a larger presence in Kerala’s urban centres. With Gopi’s victory in the Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency in 2024 and the growing anti-incumbency against the CPI(M), which has long ruled the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, the BJP — having emerged as the main opposition at the expense of the Congress in the last two elections — now sees a realistic possibility of winning both the Thrissur and Thiruvananthapuram corporations.

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Success in these corporations, coupled with gains in gram panchayats and municipalities, could significantly alter the perception of the BJP’s viability in Kerala politics.

It could also serve as a true litmus test for the party’s social-engineering efforts to bring the Christian community to its side, even though the strategy suffered a setback following the Chhattisgarh incident in July, in which two nuns were arrested for alleged conversion and human trafficking after the Vishva Hindu Parishad lodged a complaint and stopped them at a railway station.

The 2025 LSG elections will, therefore, be a crucial barometer not only of the party’s grassroots strength but also its capacity to convert national momentum into sustainable local influence in Kerala.