Daijiworld Media Network - Thiruvananthapuram

Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 26: In a historic first for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Kerala, V V Rajesh was on Friday elected mayor of the Thiruvananthapuram city corporation, marking the saffron party’s maiden mayoral victory in the state.

Rajesh secured 51 votes, including the support of an independent councillor, in the election held on Friday. The 101-member council has 50 councillors from the BJP-led NDA, 29 from the CPI(M)-led LDF and 19 from the Congress-led UDF, while two seats were won by independents. Polling in one ward was postponed following the death of a candidate.

Apart from the NDA’s 50 votes, Rajesh received the backing of independent councillor Pattoor Radhakrishnan, a former president and secretary of the Thiruvananthapuram Press Club. The other independent councillor, Sudheesh Kumar, who won as a UDF rebel candidate, abstained from voting.

LDF candidate R P Sivaji secured 29 votes, while UDF nominee K S Sabarinadhan received only 17 votes, as two UDF councillors’ votes were declared invalid due to technical reasons.

Rajesh was sworn in as mayor by district collector Anu Kumari. In his first remarks, he said his priority would be to make Thiruvananthapuram one of the best city corporations in the country.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit the city in January and announce major development initiatives. BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar and several senior party leaders were present at the council hall to witness the historic moment.

Though former DGP and Kerala’s first woman IPS officer R Sreelekha, who is also a BJP councillor, was considered for the post, the party finally chose Rajesh, citing his political experience as a key factor, especially with the BJP falling one short of a clear majority in the council. RSS and a section of the BJP leadership were also learnt to have backed his candidature.