Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 25 Forty-nine-year-old V.V. Rajesh is poised to enter the record books as the first Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader to assume the office of Mayor of the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, marking a watershed moment in the city's political history.
At a meeting of all the winning councillors at the BJP office here, general secretary of the party S. Suresh said each one of the winning candidates is good enough to become the Mayor and the deputy Mayor.
"While Rajesh will be our Mayor candidate whose political career began in 1996, Asha Nath will be the deputy Mayor candidate, and she is in her third term as a councillor," said Suresh.
Although a formal mayoral election will be held on Friday, Rajesh's victory is virtually assured as both the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) have announced that they will field candidates for the post.
The development follows the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) stunning performance in the December 9 local body elections, in which the party wrested control of the prestigious civic body from the CPI(M), which had dominated the corporation for nearly 45 years.
The BJP secured 50 of the 100 wards that went to polls, crossing the halfway mark on its own.
The LDF was reduced to 29 seats, while the UDF managed 19.
Two seats were won by independents, and polling in one ward was postponed following the death of an independent candidate.
Since the declaration of results on December 9, the BJP witnessed intense internal deliberations over the choice of mayor.
State BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar made two visits to New Delhi for consultations with the central leadership, underscoring the political significance attached to the decision.
The party was reportedly divided between two contenders, Rajesh and former Director General of Police R. Sreelekha, who recently retired from service.
Ultimately, Rajesh emerged as the consensus choice following the intervention of the BJP’s national leadership.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is understood to have strongly backed Rajesh, a factor that weighed heavily in the final decision.
On Thursday, senior party leaders met with Sreelekha to brief her on the leadership's decision and to seek her support, bringing an end to speculation over the post.
Once the mayoral election is formally conducted and the results declared, Rajesh will be sworn in as Mayor, becoming the BJP’s first-ever mayor in Thiruvananthapuram.
His elevation is being seen as a symbolic breakthrough for the party in Kerala's capital city and a significant shift in the state’'s urban political landscape.
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