- VV Rajesh sworn in as Thiruvananthapuram Mayor, marking a political milestone for the BJP in Kerala
- Rajesh won the poll with 51 votes in the 100-member House, backed by an independent
- BJP secured 50 seats in December elections, ending 45 years of CPM city control
The BJP's VV Rajesh was sworn in as Mayor of Kerala capital Thiruvananthapuram Friday afternoon, marking a watershed moment in the southern state's political landscape. In his first comments after being inducted, he said, "We will move forward together... taking everyone along. Development will be implemented in all 101 wards... Thiruvananthapuram will be transformed into a developed city."
Rajesh's induction comes less than six months before an election in a state the Bharatiya Janata Party has historically struggled; it has never held power in Kerala and has only ever had one MLA - O Rajagopal won the Nemom seat in 2016 - and one MP - actor Suresh Gopi won Thrissur in 2024.
The 45-year-old picked up 51 votes in this morning's poll - one past the halfway mark in the 100-member House. The CPIM's RP Shivaji got 29 and the Congress-led UDF's KS Sabarinathan 19.
One councillor, an independent lawmaker, abstained.
Victory was made possible by support from a second independent councillor, P Radhakrishnan.
The BJP had won 50 seats - itself a record success for the party - in the December 9 election.
Kerala: BJP State Secretary and Kodunganoor ward councillor VV Rajesh has been elected as the Mayor of Thiruvananthapuram Corporation
— ANI (@ANI) December 26, 2025
He says, "We will move forward together, taking everyone along. Development programs will be implemented in all 101 wards, ensuring equal… https://t.co/dVHsf1sgam pic.twitter.com/gocuj3JKYn
Rajesh's mayoralty signals a new chapter for the BJP in Kerala's urban politics.
The win in the state capital - a Lok Sabha constituency, incidentally, held by the Congress' Shashi Tharoor since 2009 - brought 45 years of the CPM controlling the city's civic body.
After the ceremony Kerala BJP chief Rajeev Chandrasekhar told reporters, "The CPM, with the support of implicit or behind-the-door support of the Congress, has run Thiruvananthapuram into the ground."
"Unfortunately, this corporation has become a den of corruption. This corporation, as we have exposed during the campaign, has wasted money and done nothing to develop Thiruvananthapuram. Even basic issues like drainage, water, and solid waste management have been ignored for the last 45 years."
"And therefore, we have said from the day people allow us to serve them, we will start working on developing Thiruvananthapuram. As our Mayor Rajesh said, we want to make Thiruvananthapuram one of the top three cities of the country. That is our goal. And for that our work starts today..."
#WATCH | Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala: On BJP's VV Rajesh elected Thiruvananthapuram mayor, Kerala BJP President, Rajeev Chandrasekhar says, "The CPM, with the support of implicit or behind-the-door support of the Congress, has run Thiruvananthapuram city to the ground.… pic.twitter.com/CvMDVl0Pbp
— ANI (@ANI) December 26, 2025
The choice, though, was not without political bickering within the BJP.
The party was reportedly divided between Rajesh and former Director General of Police R Sreelekha, before consensus emerged in the former's favour, aided, no doubt, by strong backing from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, seen as the BJP's ideological mentor.
Sreelekha - dubbed 'raid Sreelekha' for frequently conducting raids during a four-year stint with the CBI, where she handled economic offences - won the Sasthamangalam ward.
READ | 'Raid Sreelekha' - A Frontrunner For Thiruvananthapuram Mayor Post
Rajesh was administered his oath with Gopi, now a union minister, and Rajeev Chandrasekhar, a former union minister and now the BJP's state unit boss, present.
READ | In Kerala Local Body Polls, Big BJP Win, And Another S Tharoor Stinger
Overall, the results in the local body elections have come as a setback for the ruling Left Democratic Front before next year's Assembly poll, with the Congress-led United Democratic Front winning control of four of six municipal bodies. Taking to X, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called it a "watershed moment" and said it was a result of the hard work by BJP workers.
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