BJP march to KPCC office in Thiruvananthapuram turns tense, police fire water cannons
Synopsis
A BJP counter-march to the Congress headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram ended in water-cannon fire, with BJP state chief Rajeev Chandrasekhar among those hit. The clash is the local flashpoint of a national standoff over the Congress protest outside PM Modi's residence in Delhi — and it signals that the political temperature in Kerala is rising fast.
Key Takeaways
BJP led a march to the KPCC headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram on 22 July as a counter to a Congress protest outside PM Modi's residence in New Delhi .
Police deployed water cannons to disperse the marchers as they neared the Congress office.
BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar was among those hit by the water cannons.
The BJP alleged a woman party worker was slapped by a police officer during the agitation.
KPCC president Sunny Joseph accused the BJP of deliberately provoking confrontation to divert attention from the Delhi student protest crackdown.
A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) march to the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday, 22 July descended into confrontation after police deployed water cannons to push back the advancing protesters. The march was organised as a counter-protest against a Congress demonstration held outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence in New Delhi.
How the clash unfolded
BJP state president and MLA Rajeev Chandrasekhar led the march toward the KPCC office. As protesters neared the Congress headquarters, police intervened with water cannons. Chandrasekhar was among those directly hit by the jets. Several senior BJP leaders were present at the scene.
The BJP also alleged that a woman party worker was slapped by a police officer during the agitation — a charge that has not been independently verified.
What BJP said
Addressing the crowd, Rajeev Chandrasekhar said the party would not allow democracy to be undermined. He alleged that the Congress demonstration in New Delhi amounted to an attempt to target the Prime Minister, and framed the Thiruvananthapuram march as a direct democratic response.
Congress pushback
KPCC president and State Electricity Minister Sunny Joseph accused the BJP of deliberately engineering a confrontation by marching to the Congress office. He argued the protest was designed to divert attention from public anger over the alleged use of force by Delhi Police and central security forces against students protesting in the national capital, as well as against Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders who had backed them.
Joseph maintained that while the right to protest is constitutionally guaranteed, it cannot be used as a licence to provoke violence. He asserted that the BJP was attempting to mask its political failures and anti-people policies through confrontational agitations, and warned that Congress would not be intimidated into abandoning its positions.
Broader context
The Thiruvananthapuram flare-up is the latest episode in an escalating political standoff between the BJP-led Union government and the Congress over the Delhi student protests. Kerala, where the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) is in opposition to the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led government, has become a secondary theatre in that national confrontation. Notably, BJP marches to opposition party offices have previously triggered similar police action in the state, reflecting a recurring pattern of counter-protest escalation.
With both sides hardening their positions, further political demonstrations across Kerala appear likely in the coming days.
Point of View
And the water-cannon response hands it a ready-made grievance narrative. What mainstream coverage underplays is the structural pattern: BJP counter-marches to opposition offices in Kerala have repeatedly ended in police action, suggesting neither side is genuinely surprised by the outcome. The allegation of a woman worker being assaulted by police, if substantiated, could shift the political momentum significantly — but it remains unverified and warrants scrutiny before it is amplified.
NationPress
23 Jul 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did the BJP march to the KPCC office in Thiruvananthapuram?
The BJP organised the march on 22 July as a counter-protest against a Congress demonstration held outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence in New Delhi. BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar framed it as a response to what he called an attempt to target the Prime Minister.
What happened when BJP marchers approached the KPCC headquarters?
Police deployed water cannons to disperse the BJP protesters as they neared the Congress office. Rajeev Chandrasekhar and several senior BJP leaders present at the march were hit by the water jets.
What did the BJP allege about police conduct during the march?
The BJP alleged that a woman party worker was slapped by a police officer during the agitation. The claim has not been independently verified.
How did the Congress respond to the BJP march?
KPCC president and State Electricity Minister Sunny Joseph accused the BJP of deliberately marching to the Congress office to engineer a confrontation. He argued the move was aimed at deflecting attention from public anger over the alleged crackdown on student protesters in Delhi and against Congress leaders including Rahul Gandhi.
What is the broader political context of this clash?
The Thiruvananthapuram confrontation is a local extension of a national standoff between the BJP-led Union government and the Congress over protests in New Delhi. It reflects an escalating pattern of political counter-mobilisation, with both parties hardening their positions ahead of further demonstrations.
