Last month, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had scripted history after winning the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation in Kerala, and got its first mayor in the state. But a loss in a vital by-election on Tuesday has left the BJP with a missed opportunity to form a majority in the local body.
What happened in the Thiruvananthapuram by-election?
Due to the death of an independent candidate before the main elections, a by-election was necessitated in the Vizhinjam ward of the municipality. The result of the bypoll, which was declared on Tuesday, showed the UDF candidate K H Sudheer Khan defeating his nearest rival, the LDF's N Noushad, by a narrow margin of 83 votes.
In the closely fought election, the UDF candidate received 2,902 votes, the LDF secured 2,819 votes, and the BJP came third with 2,437 votes.
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Where do the numbers stand after the bypoll?
After the bypoll, the BJP will still be the single-largest party with 50 members in the 101-member strong municipal body, where the magic figure, or the number of members required to have a majority, is 51. Hindustan Times reported that this will lead the BJP to rely on the support of independent councillor P Radhakrishnan to maintain a majority.
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The win in Vinzhinjam was crucial for the UDF as well, given the assembly elections in the state are just a few weeks away. The win increased the tally of the Congress-led alliance from 19 to 20 in the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation, which is twice the number of seats it had won in 2020. The total tally of the CPIM-led LDF stands at 29 in the civic body. The Vinzhinjam ward was won by the LDF in the last elections.
