KOCHI: On the eve of polling in Palakkad, BJP state president K Surendran exuded confidence of his party sealing a comfortable win. The conviction surprised both the UDF and LDF, whose leaders decided it would be prudent to let the results do the talking.
And, when the verdict became clear, it proved to be a slap in the face of a party that had failed to take advantage of its decade-long dominance in the Palakkad municipal region. It exposed the chinks in the BJP armour -- factional feud and growing discontent among the rank and file.
The party fancied using the by-election as a springboard to widen its support base in Kerala ahead of the local-body polls in 2025 and the assembly election in 2026. In the general election held earlier in the year, the BJP-led NDA surprised many by winning Thrissur constituency and securing the most votes in 11 assembly segments across the state. Besides, it finished second in eight constituencies. This gave the front the confidence to set a target of at least 15 seats for 2026.
Despite talk of BJP being the chief beneficiary of the shifting patterns of the Christian vote, especially against the backdrop of the Munambam waqf land issue, there seems to have been no gains made on this front.
The revolt by former state committee member Sandeep Varier, who joined the Congress a week ahead of the election, seems to have also taken its toll. A section of party leaders in Palakkad was unhappy with the choice of candidate. Though this did not lead to further desertions, many of the disgruntled leaders took the opportunity to vent their anger against the state leadership. The party also failed to effectively counter-allegations over the Kodakara scandal.