BJP vs Left Over Rs 200-Crore Demand From Thiruvananthapuram Civic Body

An administration order asking Thiruvananthapuram Corporation to park Rs 200 crore of its own funds in the state treasury has triggered a fierce political clash between the CPM-led Left government and the BJP, which captured power in the city corporation for the first time. The BJP alleges that the move is an attempt to cripple the incoming council and a violation of the election code of conduct. 

The order, dated November 18, 2025, was issued by the Additional Chief Secretary (Finance) to the Corporation Secretary. It directs the Corporation to "set apart a liquidity reserve fund" of Rs 200 crore from cash surplus or fixed deposits, including by availing loan or overdraft if needed, and to deposit the amount in the state treasury on or before November 24. The money is to remain there for at least six months.

The timing of the order has raised alarm in the BJP camp because the previous Corporation administration officially stopped functioning from November 11, yet the Finance Department communication is dated a week later and fixes a deadline of November 24.

BJP leaders said issuing such a directive after the old council demitted office, and while the model code remains in force with one more ward election still pending, amounts to interference in the people's mandate and the functioning of the incoming BJP led council, and have termed it a clear breach of the code of conduct.

BJP City District President Karamana Jayan has described the move as a "sabotage plan" and accused the CPM government of trying to push the new council into an administrative crisis. The Left, he has alleged, has a pattern of diverting local body funds and not returning them.

BJP State General Secretary S. Suresh, in a separate statement, called the order "highly objectionable". He said the government and Corporation officials were "rushing" to shift the funds by citing an old decision. He has demanded that the government withdraw the move and urged the Election Commission to stop the Corporation Secretary's action under the election code.

The row comes in the backdrop of a historic verdict in the 101 member Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, where the BJP led NDA won 50 seats to take control of the city for the first time, ending decades of LDF rule in the state capital.

The LDF tally dropped to about 29 seats while the UDF secured around 19, even though the BJP had been the main opposition in the previous two councils, marking a major shift in the city's political balance and intensifying rivalry between the BJP and the CPM.

Now, with the BJP preparing protests against the treasury order and the Left government defending its fund mobilisation drive as part of resource management, the Rs 200 crore directive has become the first major flashpoint in an intensifying battle for control over Kerala's capital city.