Key Points

Shah is scheduled to land in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday night by a special flight. On Saturday, he will formally inaugurate the newly constructed BJP state office and subsequently address party workers at a prominent venue in the heart of the city. The event will also include a community lunch for attendees.

Following the public meeting, Shah is expected to fly to Kannur to offer prayers at the popular Thaliparamba Rajarajeswari Temple around 4 p.m. He is likely to return to Delhi later the same day.

Shah’s visit comes at a politically significant time, with local body elections around the corner. The BJP is expecting a turnout of over 40,000 party workers, especially from the southern districts of the state.

The party is aiming to make inroads in the upcoming elections, particularly in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, where it currently serves as the principal opposition. The CPI(M)-led Left Front is in power, while the Congress-led UDF is in third place.

The BJP has struggled to secure electoral victories in Kerala. It lost its lone Assembly seat in the 2021 elections, which it had won for the first time in 2016. The party, however, scored a breakthrough in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections when actor-turned-politician Suresh Gopi pulled off a surprise win in Thrissur, relegating the Congress to third place.

The BJP sees the 2025 local body elections as a crucial opportunity to boost both its vote share and seat tally in the state.

In the 2020 local body elections, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) secured 40.18 per cent of the vote, followed by the United Democratic Front (UDF) with 37.92 per cent, and the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) with 15.02 per cent.

Kerala has a total of 23,612 wards across its local self-government institutions -- including Grama Panchayats, Block Panchayats, District Panchayats, Municipalities, and Corporations.

In 2020, of the 941 Grama Panchayats, the LDF won 514, UDF 321, NDA 19, and others 23. Among 152 Block Panchayats, LDF bagged 108 and UDF 38.

In the 14 District Panchayats, LDF won 11 and UDF 3. Of 87 Municipalities, LDF won 43, UDF 41, and NDA 2. In the 6 Corporations, the LDF controls 5, and the UDF 1.

- IANS