Rajiv Chandrashekhar considers this a sign of permanent change (file photo)
Ashutosh Jha. Kerala, the only stronghold of the Left, has also started cracking and BJP has acted as a catalyst. In the last 45 years, the state came and went to power several times but the CPI(M) remained in control of the Municipal Corporation of the capital Thiruvananthapuram. Now that along with the victory in that Municipal Corporation, BJP has also made a dent in many Gram Panchayats, then Congress can immediately get excited about the upcoming assembly elections.
But former Union Minister and BJP state president Rajiv Chandrashekhar considers it a sign of permanent change. He says that the fight in the assembly elections to be held in April 2026 is now between NDA and UDF. The end of the left has begun. Here are the main excerpts from Dainik Jagran's political editor Ashutosh Jha's conversation with him:
The Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation, which was under the control of the Left parties for four and a half decades, was won by the BJP this time. It is a big victory but as the state president, how will you explain it?
-Look, the explanation is very simple...you yourself said that we have destroyed the 45 year old stronghold of the leftists. If I say, just as BJP laid its foundation in Gujarat by winning the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation elections in 1987 and then took a leap, in the same way this is a sign of changing atmosphere in Kerala too.
So you say that now NDA has also entered Kerala, which was mainly divided between LDF (Left Democratic Front) and UDF (United Democratic Front).
-You are saying something wrong. There will definitely be a three front fight but there will be a fight between NDA and UDF. Our existence is not new in Kerala. In the last Lok Sabha elections, I lost from Thiruvananthapuram seat by very less votes. We know the reason - in the other two alliances, whenever someone feels that NDA can win, they transfer votes to each other. This strategy of his will no longer work because the public mind has changed. This will be established in the upcoming assembly elections.
You said two interesting things - firstly, you are considering Left Front as the third player in Kerala and secondly, you are comparing Kerala BJP with Gujarat BJP.
-To be fair, I would compare this with Gujarat BJP as well as Karnataka BJP. In Karnataka also, it started from Shimoga Municipal Corporation. There BS Yeddyurappa became a councilor, became the chairman and then there was a huge expansion of BJP. Just as in Kerala, UDF and LDF together have been preventing the expansion of BJP, similarly in Karnataka, there was a coordination between Janata Party, Janata Dal and Congress against BJP. Even in the local elections in Kerala this time, both were transferring votes to each other at many places. In Thiruvananthapuram, at the booth where Congress had 200 votes, the entire vote was transferred to LDF. So this strategy of the opposition was going on in the entire country for a long time. In other states, the conspiracy of these people to stop BJP has been destroyed but it is still going on in states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu. It is certain to collapse here too.
But many people, including the Left and Congress in general, are saying that Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor has helped the BJP. What is true?
-(Laughing loudly) If Tharoor helped, then why could he not get this municipal corporation for Congress for so long. Congress was sweating for 20-25 years to win this corporation and out of this, Tharoor also took 15 years. But I would urge you not to limit this victory to Thiruvananthapuram only. We have won two municipalities and are second on 11. We won 41 gram panchayats and stood second in 125 gram panchayats. Some lost by very less votes. That means a permanent change is visible throughout Kerala. This process of change is not going to stop or turn back now. After the Lok Sabha elections, political pundits were saying that BJP's good performance is just a coincidence but local body elections are grassroots elections, held on the issue of land. Our protest here is permanent.
In some states, it has generally been seen that Sanatan or temple politics has been associated with the growth of BJP. How do you view Sabarimala in the case of Kerala?
-Our entire campaign was on developed Kerala only. Corruption free governance is the main thing in this. This is where the LDF government stands in the dock. Corruption has become so common for them that they even steal in the temple. The theft of four and a half kilos of gold in Sabarimala temple and theft of Rs 25 crore in Guruvayu became the issue of corruption in the elections. But look at the second thing that whatever is happening is happening only in Hindu temples. If there had been such theft by the government in any church or mosque, the government would have had to go. At least the concerned minister would have resigned immediately. But here it is the Chief Minister who is defending us. This is his thinking for Hindutva. Congress got the maximum benefit from this because in many places it was the main opposition.
In the last Lok Sabha elections, BJP had reached 20 percent votes. But the assembly elections cannot be won by this.
-We are growing. Union Home Minister Amit Shah had given us a target of reaching 25 percent votes by the local body elections itself, which we have not been able to reach because the vote share has reduced in Thrissur, where our MP is from. We are reviewing it. In Kerala, we have to move forward by fighting the conspiracy of two alliances and will definitely move forward. Let us assume that NDA will score good double digit marks in the upcoming assembly elections.
Let us clarify more about double digit... It means coming into government, becoming the main opposition party or just crossing double digits because BJP has never won more than one seat there.
-I have never been a bigot. Anything is possible with the kind of changes that are being seen in favor of BJP. But again I repeat the old thing, whatever votes we are getting now have been votes of LDF or UDF. BJP has made a dent in them, despite the coordination between them. Their strategy has also been to spread the narrative of communalism to stop NDA, but this time we have established the narrative of development. Besides, they are also exposing him on the issue of communalism. Congress is currently with Jamaat-e-Islami who are against the Constitution and secularism. Whereas the Left is with fundamentalist Muslim organizations like SDPI. Today the people of Kerala have understood that how will Jamaat or SDPI decide who is secular and who is communal. You will hear the echo of change in every street and locality.
Will any impact of Bihar election results reach Kerala?
-Effects have started to be seen. There is uneasiness among the leaders of both the alliances because in Bihar also people voted for development. The second important factor is that Muslim voters in Kerala are now leaving the Left and going towards Congress. Congress was wiped out in Bihar but is getting some gains in Kerala. But let the time come, the departure of Congress is certain in Kerala also.