Local body poll results signal end of LDF’s decade-long rule in Kerala, says BJP’s Rajeev Chandrasekhar

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) State president, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, has said that the results of the three-tier local body elections reflected a clear public endorsement of the idea of a developing Kerala, signalling the end of the Left Democratic Front’s (LDF’s) decade-long rule in the State.

Speaking to the media on Saturday, Mr. Chandrasekhar said the outcome showed that the LDF’s 10-year tenure had been a “complete failure”, marked by corruption and administrative shortcomings. Issues such as corruption cases and the Sabarimala gold theft controversy were well known to the public and had decisively turned voters away from the Left.

He also dismissed the Congress party’s allegation that the actions of the CPI(M) had helped the BJP. Their leaders have been raising such baseless charges that deserve no comment, Mr Chandrasekhar added.

NDA’s growing clout: Surendran

Former BJP State president, K. Surendran, also said the results of the three-tier local body polls conveyed a clear message that the BJP-led NDA can no longer be excluded from Kerala’s political scene.

Mr. Surendran cited the outcome in the Kozhikode Corporation as strong evidence of this shift. In Kozhikode, the BJP successfully increased its number of seats and, crucially, the results left the corporation with a hung council, as no single party or front secured an outright majority.

In preparation for the Assembly polls, Mr. Surendran said that the party would conduct a detailed review of its performance focussing on defeats where the margin of victory was narrow and losses suffered in many of the party’s previously held or traditional strongholds.