its the most religously diverse state in india around like 20% christian
Hinduism (54.7%) Islam (26.6%) Christianity (18.4%)
this is a state where the BJP has struggled to get any foothold it won its first corporation a few days ago and its first LS seat in 2024.
Elections are coming up in 2026 so this is key to see
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**Thiruvananthapuram:** The BJP is projecting its capture of Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation as a turning point for the party in Kerala, where it won its first Lok Sabha seat in the general election last year. But a closer look at the results of recently concluded local body polls indicate that the BJP’s footprint in Kerala largely remains unchanged.
Data shows it hasn’t made any major gains compared to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, including in Christian belts where it was hoping to consolidate support.
The local body polls, held months ahead of the assembly polls, saw the BJP-led NDA win 26 village panchayats, up from seven in 2020, and secure control of two municipalities, Palakkad and Ernakulam’s Tripunithura, in addition to the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation.
While it retained control of the Palakkad municipality for a third consecutive term and wrested Tripunithura from the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF), it also lost control of Pandalam municipality to the Left. Overall, the NDA won 1,447 of the state’s 17,337 wards.
In 2020, when local body polls were last held in the state, Kerala had 15,962 grama panchayat wards before delimitation.
As for the BJP, it has been trying to make an electoral breakthrough in Kerala. It now has two Union ministers from the state where it won its first-ever Lok Sabha seat in 2024.
The NDA’s vote share in the local body polls stood at around 16 percent, largely in line with its 15.64 percent share in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. In the 2021 assembly polls, the NDA’s vote share was 12.41 percent.
A senior BJP leader and state committee member told ThePrint that while capturing Thiruvananthapuram was a major achievement, it had yet to translate into a broader expansion of the party’s vote base. “Christian outreach hasn’t happened at all,” the leader said, adding that it would take time for younger faces such as state committee members Shone George and Anoop Antony Joseph to gain acceptance among the electorate.
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kerala has six times the pop of wisconin
its the most religously diverse state in india around like 20% christian
Hinduism (54.7%) Islam (26.6%) Christianity (18.4%)
this is a state where the BJP has struggled to get any foothold it won its first corporation a few days ago and its first LS seat in 2024.
Elections are coming up in 2026 so this is key to see
**Thiruvananthapuram:** The BJP is projecting its capture of Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation as a turning point for the party in Kerala, where it won its first Lok Sabha seat in the general election last year. But a closer look at the results of recently concluded local body polls indicate that the BJP’s footprint in Kerala largely remains unchanged.
Data shows it hasn’t made any major gains compared to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, including in Christian belts where it was hoping to consolidate support.
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The local body polls, held months ahead of the assembly polls, saw the BJP-led NDA win 26 village panchayats, up from seven in 2020, and secure control of two municipalities, Palakkad and Ernakulam’s Tripunithura, in addition to the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation.
While it retained control of the Palakkad municipality for a third consecutive term and wrested Tripunithura from the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF), it also lost control of Pandalam municipality to the Left. Overall, the NDA won 1,447 of the state’s 17,337 wards.
In 2020, when local body polls were last held in the state, Kerala had 15,962 grama panchayat wards before delimitation.
As for the BJP, it has been trying to make an electoral breakthrough in Kerala. It now has two Union ministers from the state where it won its first-ever Lok Sabha seat in 2024.
The NDA’s vote share in the local body polls stood at around 16 percent, largely in line with its 15.64 percent share in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. In the 2021 assembly polls, the NDA’s vote share was 12.41 percent.
A senior BJP leader and state committee member told ThePrint that while capturing Thiruvananthapuram was a major achievement, it had yet to translate into a broader expansion of the party’s vote base. “Christian outreach hasn’t happened at all,” the leader said, adding that it would take time for younger faces such as state committee members Shone George and Anoop Antony Joseph to gain acceptance among the electorate.
Doesn’t the bajrang dal beat up Christians?
Why would a Christian vote for the BJP?