Bharatiya Janata Party – Kerala


The Bharatiya Janata Party – Kerala , also known as BJP Keralam, is the Kerala state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a major national political party in India. While BJP has held significant power at the national level, its influence in Kerala has historically been limited, given the dominance of the United Democratic Front (UDF) and Left Democratic Front (LDF). Despite this, the party has steadily built a base in urban pockets, among youth, and through active participation in socio-political movements. Though historically a minor player in Kerala's electoral politics, BJP made its first breakthrough in 2016 by winning the Nemom Assembly constituency. A key milestone was reached in 2024, when Suresh Gopi became the first BJP MP elected to the Lok Sabha from Kerala.
The party is headquartered in Thiruvananthapuram and is currently led by Rajeev Chandrasekhar.
The party currently holds 1 seat in the Lok Sabha but no seats in the Rajya Sabha from the state, since it does not have any seats in the Kerala Legislative Assembly.
The party won its first ever Member of the [Legislative Assembly (India)|MLA] from Kerala in 2016 [Kerala Legislative Assembly election|2016] when party veteran O. Rajagopal defeated V. Sivankutty of the CPI(M) in Nemom. However, the party lost the Nemom seat in the 2021 election by a narrow margin. The party won its first-ever Lok Sabha MP from the state in 2024 when actor-turned politician Suresh Gopi defeated V. S. Sunil Kumar of the CPI(M) in Thrissur by a margin of 74,686 votes, marking a significant event for the party in Kerala that has historically been dominated by the Communist-led LDF and Congress-led UDF.So many politicians from LDF and UDF has merged to BJP nowadays.Palode Santhosh and other senior politicians from LDF & UDF has merged on BJP in July 2,2023.

History

The BJP's roots in Kerala trace back to the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, established in 1951. After the formation of BJP in 1980, the Kerala unit was officially organized, aiming to expand the party's ideology in a state dominated by the Congress and Left parties.

Key milestones

  • 1980s–90s: Limited electoral success; groundwork through the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh network.
  • 1991: First notable impact in the Assembly elections.
  • 2004–2014: Emergence in urban areas like Thiruvananthapuram and Palakkad.
  • 2016: Historic breakthrough with O. Rajagopal winning the Nemom Assembly seat—the first BJP MLA in Kerala.
  • 2021: BJP Kerala Lost Nemom and failed to win any Assembly seats, but gained vote share in several constituencies.
  • 2024: Suresh Gopi, a popular Malayalam actor and Rajya Sabha MP, wins the Thrissur Lok Sabha seat, marking BJP's first-ever victory in Lok Sabha election from Kerala.This victory was seen as a symbolic and strategic breakthrough for the party in Kerala.
  • 2025: Rajeev Chandrasekhar appointed as the new State President on 24 March 2025
  • 2025: Kerala Local Body Elections marked a historic political breakthrough for the BJP/NDA, with the alliance winning Kerala’s first-ever Municipal Corporation by emerging as the single largest front in Thiruvananthapuram, securing 26 Gram Panchayats across multiple districts, strengthening its presence in key municipalities like Palakkad and Thrippunithura, and signaling the rise of a competitive third front as the party expanded its urban footprint, deepened grassroots influence, and reshaped Kerala’s traditionally bipolar political landscape.

Organizational Structure

The following is the current organizational structure of the Bharatiya Janata Party – Kerala as of July 2025:

Electoral Performance : Lok Sabha Elections

Over the years, the Bharatiya Janatha Party has worked to expand its presence in Kerala's political landscape, particularly through its participation in Lok Sabha elections. Although the party won its first parliamentary seat in 2024, it has made notable inroads in several constituencies reflecting a gradual increase in public support. The table below outlines BJP's performance in various Lok Sabha elections in Kerala, highlighting its vote share, seats won, and outcome.

Electoral Performance : Kerala Legislative Assembly Elections

The Bharatiya Janatha Party has steadily expanded its efforts in Kerala's state politics, contesting Assembly elections with the goal of emerging as a signinficant political force. Despite the dominance of the CPI-led LDF and the Congress-led UDF, the BJP marked a historic breakthrough in the 2016 Kerala Legislative Assembly Elections, when O. Rajagopal won from Nemom constituency, becoming the first BJP MLA in the state's history. While the party was unable to retain the seat in the 2021 elections, its growing vote share in key constituencies reflects an evolving support base and continued political relevance within Kerala's complex electoral landscape.

Electoral Performance : Local Body Elections

Kerala Local Body Elections Summary

2025 Election Summary:
  • NDA’s Gram Panchayat victories are spread across eight districts, with the strongest clusters in Thiruvanathapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Thrissur, Palakkad, and Kasaragod. The wins are geographically diverse, covering southern, central, and northern Kerala, reflecting steady grassroots expansion in both rural and semi-urban belts.
  • Palakkad Municipality retained by NDA for a third term, highlighting localized organizational strength.
  • Thrippunithura Municipality won by NDA from UDF, marking a significant gain.

Municipal Corporation Elections

  • In the local body elections of 2025 in Kerala, the Bharatiya Janata Party–led National Democratic Alliance secured 50 seats in the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation, emerging as the single largest political front and displacing the Left Democratic Front from control after several decades. BJP has created history by winning its first-ever municipal corporation in Kerala. The outcome was widely interpreted by political observers as a notable development for the BJP in Kerala, a state where the party has traditionally had limited electoral success. Analysts commented that the result signalled a shift in the political dynamics of the state’s urban centres. Following the elections, the BJP projected R. Sreelekha, a former Indian Police Service officer, as its mayoral candidate, with party leaders emphasising her administrative experience and governance credentials.

National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Kerala

Bharatiya Janata Party – Kerala is a constituent of the National Democratic Alliance, a centre-right political coalition in India led by the Bharatiya Janata Party at the national level. The NDA was founded on 15 May 1998 and currently forms the Government of India under the leadership of the BJP.
In Kerala, political power has traditionally been dominated by the Left Democratic Front and the United Democratic Front, with the NDA being a smaller third front in the state’s electoral landscape. As part of the NDA front in Kerala, the BJP has cultivated alliances with regional parties to expand its electoral footprint and contest elections in collaboration:Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is the principal constituent of the National Democratic Alliance in Kerala. As the Kerala state unit of the BJP, it leads the coalition’s political strategy in the state and collaborates with regional partners to contest elections and expand its presence in a state historically dominated by the Left Democratic Front and the United Democratic Front.Twenty20 is a regional political party in Kerala founded by industrialist Sabu M. Jacob and backed by the KITEX Group. It formally joined the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance ahead of the 2026 Kerala Assembly elections, bringing its local body electoral strengths, particularly in panchayats such as Kizhakkambalam, into the NDA fold and aiming to boost the alliance’s political footprint.Bharath Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS) is a regional party in Kerala established in December 2015 by leaders associated with the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP). It is a constituent member of the NDA in Kerala, functioning as an allied formation to the BJP and contributing to the coalition’s efforts to broaden its electoral base in the state.Kerala Kamaraj Congress (KKC) is a state political party founded in October 2016 and aligned with the National Democratic Alliance in Kerala. Led by Vishnupuram Chandrasekharan, KKC has participated in elections under the NDA banner and maintained its association with the coalition while contesting local constituencies.

Controversies

  • On 27 August 2025, The BJP Kerala Vice President C Krishnakumar faces sexual assault charges by someone who was close to his wife. This claim was denied by the Vice President himself.He alleged that former BJP leader Sandeep Warrior, who recently joined the Congress following differences with the party leadership, was the person behind the woman.