By Admin 
The BJP, which made a dent in the Left stronghold of Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation in Kerala for the first time, has suffered a major setback when the party lost an important by-election. Due to this, the party has missed the majority mark required to grab the chair of Municipal Corporation.
By-elections held after the death of an independent candidate
The matter is related to the by-election of Vizhinjam ward here. Here an independent candidate died before the elections, hence re-elections were held. In this, United Democratic Front (UDF) candidate KH Sudhir Khan defeated Left Democratic Front (LDF) candidate N Naushad by 83 votes.
If we get support from independents then things will be resolved.
UDF got 2,902 votes. Whereas the LDF candidate got 2819 votes. At the same time, BJP’s Sarvashaktipuram Binu could get only 2437 votes and remained at the third position. Voting was held in Vizhinjam on Monday. Now BJP will have to depend on the support of independent councilors to get majority in the corporation. The magic figure of majority here is 51. BJP currently has 50 members in the 101-member council.
UDF has increased its number of seats in the municipal body from 19 to 20. This is double the number of seats won in 2015. Another ward slipped from CPI’s hands. The number of LDF seats in the municipal body remains 29.
Home Minister Amit Shah had claimed victory
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party will win the upcoming assembly elections in Kerala. He said in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday (January 11, 2026) that the support of BJP in Kerala is continuously increasing. He expressed confidence that the party will form the government in the upcoming state elections to be held this year. He also thanked the workers for the increasing public support in urban and rural areas.