V.V. Rajesh: Saffron entry – The Hindu

In 2020, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was confident of capturing power in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, which has been ruled by the Left Democratic Front for nearly four decades. This confidence was based on their performance in previous elections in 2015; The number of seats on the 100-member council increased from six to 35. To make its intentions clear, the party fielded one of its prominent faces in the state, VV Rajesh, and put him forward as a possible Mayoral candidate.

Although Mr. Rajesh won this election, the BJP failed to improve its position and remained almost stagnant at 34 seats. Five years later, the BJP finally came out on top, winning 50 seats, just one short of the majority figure. This was also the party’s first victory in a corporation in Kerala.

The BJP campaign focused on the development of Thiruvananthapuram, as announced by State BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar during the election campaign, and offered to prepare a plan within just 45 days of assuming office. Mr. Rajesh was just one of many candidates vying for the post of Mayor; The most prominent among them was former Director General of Police R. Sreelekha, who joined the BJP in 2024.

Until a day before the mayoral elections on December 26, there was a strong hint that Ms. Sreelekha would take over. However, given the long experience of a section of the BJP leadership in building the party at the grassroots level in the region, the scales tipped in Mr. Rajesh’s favor at the last minute. Although Ms. Sreelekha made her displeasure public, especially by angrily leaving the council chamber immediately after the swearing-in ceremony, Mr. Rajesh, ever diplomatic, was quick to calm her down by visiting her at her home.

Born in 1975 in Nedumangad, a suburban town in Thiruvananthapuram district, Mr. Rajesh started his political life as a student activist of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). By the time he completed his law degree, he had risen to positions within the organization at the State and national level. The natural progression was towards the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, the youth organization of the BJP, of which he was the State President. He later became Thiruvananthapuram district president and State secretary of the BJP.

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Although his attempts in the parliamentary elections failed, he increased his scores in all three elections he participated in. In Vattiyurkavu Assembly constituency, it came second with 28.77 percent votes in 2021, while it came third with 11.98 percent votes in 2011. In 2016, he managed to increase the BJP’s votes in Nedumangad to 35,139 from 1,255 in the previous election, but came third.

Since her early days, she has been actively involved in the BJP’s protests in the capital, especially against the Supreme Court order allowing women of menstruating age to enter Sabarimala. The BJP often assigned him for television debates. However, during his tenure as a councilor in Thiruvananthapuram Corporation in the last five years, his failure to attend council meetings had become a point of contention in the council. Although the council met twice a month, he attended only a few meetings.

The BJP has tried to portray the victory in Thiruvananthapuram Corporation as a crucial opening to capture power in Kerala in the upcoming Assembly elections. But local body election results paint an overall bleaker picture for the party, which has seen its vote share fall from 19.26% in 2020 to 14.76% currently. It also failed to make progress in district panchayats spread across rural belts.

Considering this fact, the central leadership of the BJP is expected to push for showcase-worthy projects in Thiruvananthapuram Corporation. Soon after taking over, Mr. Rajesh said the capital would be transformed into one of the three most developed cities in the country in the next five years.

The BJP comes to power at a time when the development trajectory of the capital is poised to rise on the wings of the Vizhinjam port. The party’s growth will largely depend on how Mr. Rajesh handles the powerful position he has just inherited.