Kerala Assembly Polls: Amit Shah To Hold Strategy Sessions With BJP Leaders

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Union Home Minister Amit Shah will kick off the BJP’s campaign for the upcoming assembly polls in Kerala with a series of party meetings and strategy sessions in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday.

Riding high on the victory in the prestigious Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, the BJP’s chief strategist will discuss plans to implement the party’s Viksita Keralam (Developed Kerala) agenda and will meet NDA leaders at the party office.

The meeting is also significant as it sets the stage for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s much-anticipated visit in the coming days to share his government’s vision for Kerala, including a special fast track development plan for Thiruvananthapuram city. The BJP had won 50 of the 101 wards in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, installing its first-ever Mayor in Kerala.

Amit Shah will meet the newly elected BJP local body representatives from across the state during an interaction arranged at the city auditorium in Kowdiar. Apart from the Thiruvananthapuram corporation, the BJP won around 50-60 wards in municipalities, 2,500 wards in grama panchayats, and 20-30 wards in block panchayats.

The Union Home Minister will address party workers and leaders, unveil the roadmap for the upcoming assembly elections, and review the party’s strengths and weaknesses across the state along with strategies to boost the election machinery.

The BJP secured about 14.7 percent of the total vote share in the recent local body polls, according to state election commission data. This marks a drop from the 19.3 percent votes the BJP-NDA received in the Lok Sabha elections.

The result also fell well short of the target Amit Shah had set during a visit to the state last year, when he urged the party to aim for at least 25 percent in the local body polls and raise it further to 30 percent in the assembly elections.

The Congress-led UDF, which scored a significant victory in the local body polls, secured 38.81 percent of the votes, while the CPM-led LDF came second with 33.45 percent. Looking at the assembly segment-wise leads, the UDF is well ahead of the other two political formations, leading in 84 segments, compared to the CPM-led LDF’s 56 and the BJP’s 10 segments.

The BJP leadership has shortlisted 25 of the 140 assembly seats spread across Thiruvananthapuram, Palakkad, Kasargod, Kannur, Thrissur, Ernakulam, and Alappuzha. Of these, the party is hopeful of winning at least a dozen seats where it has a strong organizational base and a solid vote share that could be converted into victories with the right strategy.