BJP-led NDA makes it big in Thripunithura

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has made it big in Ernakulam after it upset the calculations of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) to earn an impressive win in the Thripunithura municipality in Ernakulam.

The victory has enthused the BJP as it had considered Thripunitura among its key strongholds in the district. The party had served as the principal opposition in the temple town, dislodging the United Democratic Front (UDF) over the last two terms since 2015. It won 21 seats to stake a claim for power in the 53-member civic body.

The LDF won 20 seats in the polls. Though it came third with 12 seats, the UDF camp heaved a sigh of relief as it could do better on its performance this time compared to the outcome in 2020 when it had won only eight seats. In 2015, the front had won 11 seats.

For the Left, the outcome came as a shocker as the municipality has remained its stronghold since its formation in 1978. The front had secured a simple majority with 25 seats in the 49-member municipal council in the 2020 polls. The BJP had emerged second with 15 seats, followed by the UDF with 8 and one Independent. The BJP later increased its tally to 17 after winning two seats from the LDF in the byelections held in May 2022, following the deaths of two sitting councillors.

The BJP had consistently worked out its plan to gain a majority in the civic body over the last two decades after it steadily increased its presence in the municipality. In 2010, when the UDF wrested power from the LDF, the BJP had just one councillor. In 2015, that number rose to 13, two more than the UDF, and to 15 in 2020 and to 17 after the byelections.