BJP Creates History: VV Rajesh Elected Thiruvananthapuram Mayor

December 26, 2025

Kerala: BJP leader V.V. Rajesh was sworn in as the mayor of the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation on Friday. This is the first time the BJP has won the mayoral post in a municipal corporation in Kerala. The party secured a majority in the municipal elections by winning 50 out of 101 wards. Rajesh received 51 votes in the mayoral election, including the support of an independent councilor.

Rajesh, who is the BJP’s state secretary and councilor for the Koduganur ward, described this as a sign of change in Kerala politics. He said, “This is a historic moment… The change in Thiruvananthapuram will impact the political situation across Kerala.”

Promised equal development in all wards
Mayor Rajesh said that development work would be carried out equally across the city. “We will move forward taking everyone along… making Thiruvananthapuram one of the developed cities in the country,” ANI quoted.

LDF’s P. Shivaji received 29 votes in the mayoral election, while UDF candidate K.S. Sabarinathan received 19—two of which were later declared invalid. Senior BJP leaders, including state president Rajiv Chandrashekhar, former Union Minister V. Muraleedharan, and former state president K. Surendran, were also present at the swearing-in ceremony.

This victory ends the LDF’s nearly 40-year hold on the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation.

UDF retains control in other municipal corporations
Reacting to Rajesh’s election as mayor, BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that the CPM had ruined the city and the corporation had become a “den of corruption.”

He said, “Our goal is to make Thiruvananthapuram one of the top three cities in the country.”

Meanwhile, UDF leader A.K. Hafeez was elected mayor in the Kollam Municipal Corporation, and in Kochi, UDF’s V.K. Minimol, a four-time councilor, won the mayoral post.