THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It was a mixed bag for the NDA in the Assembly election, as its vote share rose to 14.2% from 12.5% in 2021, with the gains coming largely from constituents BDJS and Twenty20 rather than the BJP itself.
Though they failed to win any seats, the NDA's key constituents BDJS and Twenty20 together polled close to six lakh votes, contributing 2.75% to the alliance's overall vote share. Notably, the BJP's vote share remained more or less unchanged from 2021 at 11.4%, with the party attributing the stagnation to contesting fewer seats this time compared to the previous election.
"The push to bring more parties into the NDA is aimed at widening our footprint and breaking into regions where our presence is weak. But while coalition dharma demands compromises, we should be careful not to experiment in BJP strongholds or risk weakening our support base," admitted a leader from the BJP state core group.
BDJS was allocated 22 seats and polled a total of 2.89 lakh votes, translating to an overall vote share of 1.34%. Its best performance came in the Aroor constituency, where it secured over 20,000 votes, while its weakest showing was in Kothamangalam, where the Thushar Vellappally-led party managed just over 7,000 votes.
BDJS had secured only around 1% of the total vote share in 2021 when it was allotted 21 seats. Interestingly, the party had garnered around 4% of the total votes polled in the 2016 Assembly election, marking its best-ever electoral performance.
On the other hand, Twenty20 contested 19 seats this time and polled 3.04 lakh votes in total, accounting for an overall vote share of 1.41%. Its strongest performance was in its bastion Kunnathunad, where it secured over 40,000 votes, while its weakest showing came in Pathanapuram, where it managed only 7,031 votes.
Interestingly, the allocation of Thrippunithura and Kodungallur, considered BJP strongholds, to Twenty20 had raised eyebrows. The outcome, however, was mixed. While Twenty20 managed to increase the NDA vote share in Thrippunithura from 15.20% in 2021 to 19.07%, its vote share in Kodungallur stood at 16.18%, down from 18.94% in 2021 when the BJP had contested the seat.
Meanwhile, the BJP contested 98 seats this time, winning three. The party polled a total of 24.66 lakh votes, translating to an overall vote share of 11.4%. In the 2021 Assembly election, its standalone vote share was 11.3%. However, the party had contested 115 seats then, which was 17 more than in 2026.