After impressive LS show in Kerala, BJP eyes 60 seats in Assembly polls
The party believes that it could eat into the traditional vote bases of the Congress and the CPM too.
The party believes that it could eat into the traditional vote bases of the Congress and the CPM too.
The party believes that it could eat into the traditional vote bases of the Congress and the CPM too.
Kochi: Buoyed by its performance in the Lok Sabha elections in Kerala, the BJP has set its eyes on the local body and assembly elections due in two years. Of the 140 assembly segments in the state, the BJP is likely to focus on 60 seats where it polled between 35,000 to 75,000 votes in the recent general elections.
The initial plans for the next round of elections were discussed at a state leadership meet held here on Saturday. The party assesses that it could make huge inroads into the scheduled caste and scheduled tribe categories as well as other backward segments in society in the general elections. The party believes that it could eat into the traditional vote bases of the Congress and the CPM too.
At a post-meet interaction with the media, BJP state president K Surendran said that the relevance of the BJP and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by it has increased in Kerala with the Lok Sabha elections.
"CPM state secretary M V Govindan has repeatedly said that Hindu communities and Christians voted for the BJP. That fact is that the backward sections of society and Christians have shifted from vote bank politics to politics of development," Surendran said.
"CPM is trying to intimidate SNDP Yogam and its general secretary Vellappally Natesan. We will not allow the CPM to intimidate anyone. We will protect them," Surendran said.
Alleging that the ruling CPM is attempting to delimit local body wards keeping an eye on the elections, the BJP state leadership has decided to form committees to scrutinise the delimitation process.
"The CPM is trying to overcome the Lok Sabha polls mandate through delimitation of local body wards. The government is trying to subvert the criteria for ward division," Surendran said. He alleged that the opposition Congress kept mum in the assembly when the ruling front discussed the delimitation matter.
BJP's growth story in Kerala
Across Kerala, NDA's vote share rose to 19.21 per cent, an increase of 3.57 per cent compared with the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, the BJP came first only in one of the 140 Assembly segments – Nemom in Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency. It came second in seven assembly segments – Kasaragod and Manjeshwar in Kasaragod LS constituency; Thrissur assembly segment in Thrissur LS constituency; Adoor in Pathanamthitta; and Kazhakkoottam, Vattiyoorkavu, and Thiruvananthapuram.
In 2024, the BJP came first in 11 Assembly segments, thanks largely to its big win in Thrissur, second in nine segments in five districts, and close third (margin less than 5,000 votes) in 10 assembly segments in nine Lok Sabha constituencies. And that sets the ground for a keen three-cornered fight in 30 of the 140 assembly segments in Kerala.
The assembly segments where BJP was in number one position are Kazhakkoottam, Vattiyoorkavu and Nemom in Thiruvananthapuram LS seat; Attingal and Kattakkada in Attingal LS constituency; Manalur, Ollur, Thrissur, Nattika, Irinjalakuda, and Puthukkad in Thrissur.
Assembly segments where it came second are Manjeshwar, Kasaragod, Palakkad, Haripad, Kayamkulam, Varkala, Thiruvananthapuram, Kovalam and Neyyattinkara. In Thiruvananthapuram, Parassala was the only segment where it was relegated to the third place, where it trailed the LDF by just 697 votes.