Results of civic polls will spring a big surprise: Kerala BJP chief

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala BJP president K. Surendran on Saturday said the results of the local body polls are going to be a big surprise.

While talking to the media on the eve of the third and final phase of the civic polls, Surendran said that for the first time the BJP is going to win 61 seats in Thiruvananthapuram Corporation and would take control of it.

"There is going to be a sea change in the political scenario once the votes are counted and we will win 61 seats in Thiruvananthapuram Corporation. Likewise in Kochi, Kollam and Kozhikode we will make huge inroads and at Kannur, we will make a stunning debut," Surendran said.

He pointed out that the stock of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has fallen like never before on account of numerous scams and allegations.

However, if one looks at the vote share of the BJP in the past elections, it tells a sorry tale.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls the BJP had a vote share of 10.33 per cent, which touched 15.10 per cent in the 2016 assembly polls (they won one out of the 140 seats). In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls it was 15.6 per cent and the party drew a blank in the 20 constituencies.

In the 2015 local body polls the BJP secured a 13.28 per cent vote share and managed to win around 1,200 seats out of the around 21,000 seats.

Thiruvananthapuram Corporation has 100 divisions of which the BJP won 35, while the CPI-M emerged victorious with 43 and the Congress won 21.