Overview
- In a letter dated December 30, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Mayor V. V. Rajesh and Deputy Mayor G. S. Asha Nath, calling the outcome a milestone "written in golden letters" and saying voters are "ready for a new dawn."
- The BJP controls 50 of 101 seats in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, and Rajesh secured the mayoralty with 51 votes including an Independent's support, becoming the party’s first mayor in Kerala.
- Modi criticized the LDF and UDF as a "fixed match" marked by poor governance, corruption and violence, asserting that the BJP-NDA is emerging as the people’s alternative.
- Rajesh said his immediate focus is a clean, green administration and indicated he expects a January visit by the Prime Minister that could bring development announcements for the city.
- Reporting highlights ward-level targeting and RSS oversight as factors in the upset, while broader local body results showed the BJP’s statewide vote share at 14.76% and the UDF still viewed as the main alternative to the ruling LDF.