Celebrations in progress after the declaration of by-poll results in Kerala.
The first three-cornered by-poll of Kerala in Arruvikkara saw the BJP become a crucial player in the state, with a five-fold increase in votes it garnered. In the 2011 Assembly elections, the party had got just over 7000 votes across the state. But in Arruvikkara, despite losing, BJP state unit chief O Rajagopal got 34,000 votes -- a 23.96% vote share.
Congress candidate KS Sabarinathan won the seat, defeating his nearest rival, the Left's M Vijayakumar, by a margin of more than 10,000 votes.
Congress Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who claimed that his party's victory was an indication that the UDF will come back to power in the assembly elections next year, conceded that the results prove the growing influence of the BJP.
"The BJP had given a very close contest to MP Shashi Tharoor even during the Lok Sabha elections," he said. "This by-poll too, shows its consistently growing influence among the electorate."
In Kerala, elections are always seen as a political contest between the CPI(M)-led LDF and the Congress-led UDF.
But the BJP has been making a push to expand its presence in the state, with the party's biggest faces taking part in rallies. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had addressed rallies there ahead of the Lok Sabha elections and party president Amit Shah had taken part in protests in Thiruvanthapuram recently.
Mr Rajagopal, 85, said it was heartening that despite UDF's win, nearly 80,000 people have voted against the government in favour of either LDF or BJP.
The "minority appeasement policies" of the government no longer works with everyone, he said, and the LDF has not been able to make a comeback since 2006 defeat, "because it has nothing to offer".
"It is in these circumstances that people are increasingly voting for BJP in the state. This is also after seeing the incredible work being done by BJP at the Centre," he said.
Acknowledging BJP's growing presence, CPI(M) leader Kodeyeri Balakrishnan said, "The anti-UDF votes got split between the LDF and the BJP," ultimately working in favour of the UDF.