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The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has made significant gains in Kerala's 2025 local government elections, capturing the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation in the state capital and Tripunithura Municipality in Ernakulam district from the Left Democratic Front (LDF). It also retained control of the Palakkad municipality for a third consecutive term but lost the Pandalam Municipality to the LDF.
The alliance also recorded a rise in support in centres such as Kollam Corporation and pockets of Alappuzha, developments that reflect a gradual shift in urban voting trends and pose fresh questions for the State’s traditional political fronts.
In the state capital Thiruvananthapuram, the NDA emerged as the single largest bloc in the 101-member Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, winning 50 wards and bringing an end to the Left Democratic Front’s uninterrupted 45-year hold over the civic body. The LDF was pushed down to 29 seats, while the Congress-led United Democratic Front secured 19. Two wards were won by Independents, and polling in one ward was cancelled following the death of a candidate last week.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, “Thank you Thiruvananthapuram! The mandate the BJP-NDA got in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation is a watershed moment in Kerala’s politics.The people are certain that the development aspirations of the state can only be addressed by our Party. Our Party will work towards this vibrant city’s growth and boost ‘Ease of Living’ for the people.”
The outcome marked a clear turnaround for the NDA in the capital, where it had finished runner-up in the 2020 local body elections. Then, the LDF had dominated the corporation with 51 wards, while the NDA and UDF were limited to 34 and 10 seats respectively. Even earlier, in 2010, the LDF had won 42 wards, with the NDA at 34 and the UDF at 21, indicating that despite fluctuations among opposition fronts, the Left had managed to retain control until now.
“One of the major reasons was strong anti-incumbency. Also BJP’s emergence at first stage has only affected Congress, now this has reached the second stage that it started hitting LDF too. But that could have been beaten with a strong governance, but that wasn’t there,” MG Radhakrishnan, veteran journalist and political analyst, told TNM.
“The pro BJP erosion of Hindu votes has hit the Left now. This is likely to repeat in the 2026 Assembly election.BJP has been working hard for Thiruvananthapuram for the past 15 years,” he added.
A similar shift was seen in Tripunithura Municipality in Ernakulam district, where the NDA edged past the LDF in a closely fought contest. The alliance won 21 seats in the expanded 53-member council, narrowly ahead of the LDF’s 20, while the UDF slipped to third place with 12 seats.
This is the first time the BJP has gained control of the Tripunithura Municipal Council. An A-grade municipality, Tripunithura had traditionally alternated between the LDF and the UDF, making the latest result a significant departure from past trends.
In the 2020 local body elections, when the council had 49 wards, the CPI(M) had emerged as the largest party with 23 seats, while the BJP had secured 17. The increase in the number of wards this year coincided with a shift in voter preference, allowing the NDA to move just ahead of the Left.
In Palakkad, the BJP lost three seats but retained control of the municipality for a third consecutive term by securing 25 of the 53 seats. Even though the local body polls happened while the LDF government faced a loss of face due to allegations of theft of gold from Sabarimala temple, it managed to win the Pandalam Municipality from THE BJP. Pandalam is a town historically linked to the Sabarimala temple.