{"id":26389,"date":"2025-12-13T14:32:44","date_gmt":"2025-12-13T14:32:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/13\/saffron-surge-in-kerala-capital-thiruvananthapuram-verdict-sets-tone-for-2026-poll-fight-politics-news\/"},"modified":"2025-12-13T14:32:44","modified_gmt":"2025-12-13T14:32:44","slug":"saffron-surge-in-kerala-capital-thiruvananthapuram-verdict-sets-tone-for-2026-poll-fight-politics-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/13\/saffron-surge-in-kerala-capital-thiruvananthapuram-verdict-sets-tone-for-2026-poll-fight-politics-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Saffron Surge In Kerala Capital: Thiruvananthapuram Verdict Sets Tone For 2026 Poll Fight | Politics News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"story-9768330\">\n<p><span class=\"jsx-395e0e0beb19cb6e jsx-3759419209\">Last Updated:<\/span><time class=\"jsx-395e0e0beb19cb6e jsx-3759419209\">December 13, 2025, 16:57 IST<\/time><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"asubttl-9768330\" class=\"jsx-ee90caf6118df965 jsx-391138589 asubttl-schema\">The local body poll results\u00a0saw the NDA capture power in the crucial civic agency for the first time<\/h2>\n<div class=\"jsx-cc1b15cf85effb8b artsharwrp\"><a href=\"https:\/\/news18.co\/gnps-en-btn\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"jsx-91f4da8d48c13a79 gglebtn bgylw\"\/><\/p>\n<div id=\"artshare\" class=\"jsx-cc1b15cf85effb8b artshare\">\n<div class=\"jsx-cc1b15cf85effb8b stickdiv\">\n<div class=\"jsx-cc1b15cf85effb8b deskwrapstkdiv\">\n<div class=\"jsx-cc1b15cf85effb8b fontchange\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.news18.com\/dlxczavtqcctuei\/news18\/static\/images\/english\/font.svg\" height=\"30px\" width=\"30px\" alt=\"font\" title=\"font\" class=\"jsx-cc1b15cf85effb8b lazyload\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"jsx-ee90caf6118df965 jsx-391138589\">\n<figure class=\"jsx-ee90caf6118df965 jsx-391138589 amimg\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The loss of the capital city corporation is a devastating blow to the LDF, raising serious questions about the perceived invincibility of the Left in its traditional strongholds. (Representational image\/PTI)\" title=\"The loss of the capital city corporation is a devastating blow to the LDF, raising serious questions about the perceived invincibility of the Left in its traditional strongholds. (Representational image\/PTI)\" src=\"https:\/\/images.news18.com\/ibnlive\/uploads\/2021\/07\/1627283897_news18_logo-1200x800.jpg?impolicy=website&amp;width=400&amp;height=225\" loading=\"eager\" fetchpriority=\"high\" class=\"jsx-ee90caf6118df965 jsx-391138589\"\/><\/p>\n<p>The loss of the capital city corporation is a devastating blow to the LDF, raising serious questions about the perceived invincibility of the Left in its traditional strongholds. (Representational image\/PTI)<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"0\" class=\"story_para_0\">The political landscape of Kerala experienced a seismic shift on Saturday as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) secured a historic victory in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.news18.com\/politics\/kerala-civic-polls-pm-modi-hails-bjp-ndas-watershed-mandate-in-thiruvananthapuram-ws-l-9768188.html\">Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation elections<\/a>, ending the four-decade-long dominance of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) in the state capital. The results, announced after the counting of votes polled on December 9, saw the NDA capture power in the crucial civic body for the first time.<\/p>\n<p id=\"1\" class=\"story_para_1\">The final tally in the 101-ward corporation showed a decisive margin for the NDA, which secured a total of 50 seats, achieving the required majority of 51 seats (with one seat election cancelled). This performance marks a dramatic turnaround for the BJP, which had struggled for years to gain a foothold in the state\u2019s political structure, and a massive setback for the ruling LDF, whose tally was reduced to just 29 wards. The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) managed to secure 19 seats, a modest comeback for the principal opposition. Two seats were claimed by Independent candidates.<\/p>\n<p id=\"2\" class=\"story_para_2\">The significance of the victory was immediately underscored by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who took to social media to express his gratitude. \u201cThank you Thiruvananthapuram!&#8221; PM Modi stated, adding, \u201cThe mandate the BJP-NDA got in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation is a watershed moment in Kerala\u2019s 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\u2019s growth and boost \u2018Ease of Living\u2019 for the people.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p id=\"3\" class=\"story_para_3\">This result in the state\u2019s political capital holds immense importance as a bellwether ahead of the 2026 assembly elections. The BJP\u2019s aggressive campaign, led by state unit president Rajeev Chandrasekhar, focused heavily on a development agenda for the city, contrasting with the LDF\u2019s long tenure. The win in the corporation, a major increase from the 34 seats the NDA held in the previous 2020 elections, suggests a consolidation of urban votes in the key constituencies like Nemom, Vattiyoorkavu, and Kazhakkoottam, which fall under the civic body\u2019s jurisdiction.<\/p>\n<p id=\"4\" class=\"story_para_4\">While the UDF emerged as the overall dominant front across Kerala, reclaiming four of the six corporations and making strong gains in municipalities, the loss of the capital city corporation is a devastating blow to the LDF, raising serious questions about the perceived invincibility of the Left in its traditional strongholds. Conversely, the victory gives the BJP a massive morale boost and a tangible administrative platform to showcase its governance model in Kerala for the first time, establishing a clear narrative of change that it hopes to carry into the upcoming state polls.<\/p>\n<div class=\"jsx-ff4fe2ed9527ebb3 midgprfd\">\n<div class=\"jsx-ff4fe2ed9527ebb3 midgprfdbtn\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.news18.com\/dlxczavtqcctuei\/news18\/static\/images\/english\/google-color.svg\" width=\"36\" height=\"36\" alt=\"\" class=\"jsx-ff4fe2ed9527ebb3\"\/><span class=\"jsx-ff4fe2ed9527ebb3\">Click here to add News18 as your preferred news source on Google. <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"jsx-ee90caf6118df965 jsx-391138589 atbtlink fp\"><span>First Published:<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"rs\">\n<p>December 13, 2025, 16:57 IST<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"jsx-ee90caf6118df965 jsx-391138589 brdcrmb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.news18.com\/\">News<\/a>  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.news18.com\/politics\/\">politics<\/a>  <span class=\"brdout\"> Saffron Surge In Kerala Capital: Thiruvananthapuram Verdict Sets Tone For 2026 Poll Fight<\/span><\/div>\n<div id=\"coral-wrap\" class=\"jsx-ba4d8f086a12294f \">\n<div class=\"jsx-ba4d8f086a12294f coral-cont\">\n<div class=\"jsx-ba4d8f086a12294f coltoptxt\">Disclaimer: Comments reflect users\u2019 views, not News18\u2019s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.news18.com\/disclaimer\/\" class=\"jsx-ba4d8f086a12294f\">Terms of Use<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.news18.com\/privacy_policy\/\" class=\"jsx-ba4d8f086a12294f\">Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"jsx-ee90caf6118df965 jsx-391138589 rmbtn news18_read_more\">Read More<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.news18.com\/politics\/saffron-surge-in-kerala-capital-thiruvananthapuram-verdict-sets-tone-for-2026-poll-fight-9768330.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Last Updated:December 13, 2025, 16:57 IST The local body poll results\u00a0saw the NDA capture power in the crucial civic agency for the first time The loss of the capital city corporation is a devastating blow to the LDF, raising serious questions about the perceived invincibility of the Left in its traditional strongholds. (Representational image\/PTI) The&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25631,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26389","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26389"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26389\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25631"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26389"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26389"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}