The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ended its electoral drought in Kerala when actor-politician Suresh Gopi won from Thrissur in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Following the celebrations, the party has realised that the road ahead is full of challenges.
Although the victory of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was confined to only one seat, its vote share increased from 15.64% in 2019 to 19.25%in 2024. The party also established leads in 11 Assembly segments across the State and secured the second position in nine others. The ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) in the State, which won only one seat, had secured 36.29% in 2019; this time, it secured 33.36%. The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF), which won the remaining 18 out of 20 seats, also experienced a decline in vote share from 47.48% in 2019 to 45.21% in 2024. In 90 of the 140 Assembly segments, the Congress’s votes …