BJP Takes First Mayoral Post in Kerala, Congress Rocked by “Cash-for-Mayorship” Scandal

Manas Dasgupta

NEW DELHI, Dec 26: As the BJP made history getting the first-ever mayor in the southern-most state of Kerala where the saffron party has always struggled to win any election, the Congress, which relatively did well in the civic body elections in the state, was on Friday rocked by “cash-for-mayorship” charge levelled by a party councillor against the party’s senior leaders.

It was a watershed moment for the BJP as the party nominee VV Rajesh was sworn in as Mayor of Kerala’s state capital city of Thiruvananthapuram on Friday afternoon securing the support of the lone independent member in the 101-member municipal corporation. The BJP had won 50 seats, just one short of a clear majority with the Congress-led UDF, the CPM-led LDF and some independents together had secured the remaining 50 seats.

Rajesh’s induction comes less than six months before an election in a state where the BJP has historically struggled; it has never held power in Kerala and has only ever had one MLA – O Rajagopal won the Nemom seat in 2016 – and one MP – actor Suresh Gopi won Thrissur in 2024.

Alongside the BJP’s first major foray in Kerala, the Congress was rocked by cash-for-mayorship scandal in a state where it has been riding high on the recent local body polls that saw the party-led UDF win a majority of seats across the three-tier spectrum. As voting for the post of president/chairperson/mayor in local bodies held on Friday, four-time councillor in the Thrissur Corporation, Laly James, alleged that her fellow councillor in the corporation, Dr Niji Justin, had bagged the mayorship after paying money to senior leaders.

On Thursday, Thrissur district leadership of the Congress had selected Dr Niji, also a vice president of the DCC, for the post of mayor in the corporation, which the party wrested from LDF after a decade.

On Thursday, Thrissur district leadership of the Congress had selected Dr Niji, also a vice president of the DCC, for the post of mayor in the corporation, which the party wrested from LDF after a decade. After the Congress picked the gynaecologist-turned-politician as the mayor of Thrissur, Laly told the media, “The party wants money. I think the party has gone after money. I have no money but only hard work. Her (Niji’s) family is rich. I can only work for the party. I was told that leaders are running with money bags. I don’t know where the money has gone. People are asking me whether this post can be obtained after paying money. I have no money. I hail from a farming family,” she claimed.

“I will vote for Niji. The vote is not for her, but for Congress. I will vote for Congress. If the party takes any disciplinary action, I will teach the leaders what discipline is. I will reveal more about the leaders. I have many things to reveal about the party. Only those who operate behind the curtain know what the criterion (for selecting the mayor) is. I have toiled for the party at the grassroots level,” she said.

The district Congress president Joseph Tajet said the decision was taken after consulting councillors and the party leadership. “She (Laly) had contested four times. Has she given a money box to anyone to get a party ticket? She says she is poor. That shows we have given a seat to a poor person. The party will examine why she said what she did. We have taken the decision as per the procedure.”

Niji, who was elected as the mayor, said, “Only the party leadership has to answer to this allegation. I have been with the party since 1999. Over these years, I have led the Youth Congress at the district and state levels. Apart from party work, I have also been engaged in social work.”

Opposition leader and senior Congress legislator V D Satheesan told the media, “No senior leader should intervene in the election of the mayor. We have a procedure which is binding on all local bodies. More than one person can aspire to become the mayor. If there are complaints, KPCC will look into them.”

In his first comments after being inducted as the Thiruvananthapuram mayor, Mr Rajesh said, “We will move forward together… taking everyone along. Development will be implemented in all 101 wards… Thiruvananthapuram will be transformed into a developed city.”

The 45-year-old picked up 51 votes, one past the halfway mark in the 100-member House. The CPIM’s RP Shivaji got 29 and the Congress-led UDF’s KS Sabarinathan 19. One councillor, an independent lawmaker, abstained. Victory was made possible by support from a second independent councillor, P Radhakrishnan. The BJP had won 50 seats – itself a record success for the party – in the December 9 election.

Rajesh, who is the BJP’s state secretary and Kodunganoor ward councillor, becomes the party’s first-ever mayor in Kerala. The councillor called it “a historic moment”, adding that the moment could “change the political situation of Kerala.” “… I think that the political change of Thiruvananthapuram will change the entire political situation in Kerala,” Mr Rajesh said.

Rajesh’s mayoralty signals a new chapter for the BJP in Kerala’s urban politics. The win in the state capital – a Lok Sabha constituency, incidentally, held by the Congress’ Shashi Tharoor since 2009 – brought 45 years of the CPM controlling the city’s civic body.

After the ceremony Kerala BJP chief Rajeev Chandrasekhar told reporters, “The CPM, with the support of implicit or behind-the-door support of the Congress, has run Thiruvananthapuram into the ground.” “Unfortunately, this corporation has become a den of corruption. This corporation, as we have exposed during the campaign, has wasted money and done nothing to develop Thiruvananthapuram. Even basic issues like drainage, water, and solid waste management have been ignored for the last 45 years.”

“And therefore, we have said from the day people allow us to serve them, we will start working on developing Thiruvananthapuram. As our Mayor Rajesh said, we want to make Thiruvananthapuram one of the top three cities of the country. That is our goal. And for that our work starts today…”

The choice, though, was not without political bickering within the BJP. The party was reportedly divided between Rajesh and former Director General of Police R Sreelekha, before consensus emerged in the former’s favour, aided, no doubt, by strong backing from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, seen as the BJP’s ideological mentor.

Sreelekha – dubbed ‘raid Sreelekha’ for frequently conducting raids during a four-year stint with the CBI, where she handled economic offences – won the Sasthamangalam ward. Rajesh was administered his oath with Gopi, now a union minister, and Rajeev Chandrasekhar, a former union minister and now the BJP’s state unit boss, present.

Overall, the results in the local body elections have come as a setback for the ruling Left Democratic Front before next year’s Assembly poll, with the Congress-led United Democratic Front winning control of four of six municipal bodies. Taking to X, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called it a “watershed moment” and said it was a result of the hard work by BJP workers.