BJP wins 3 Kerala Assembly seats in historic best-ever performance
Synopsis
For the first time ever, the BJP has won three Kerala Assembly seats in a single election cycle — and the last of the three, Kazhakootam, came down to just 265 votes. The triple strike in Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam districts signals a genuine shift in a state the BJP has long struggled to crack.
Key Takeaways
BJP secured three Kerala Assembly seats on 4 May — its best-ever tally in the state.
Muraleedharan won Kazhakootam by a margin of just 265 votes over CPI(M)'s Kadakampally Surendran .
Rajeev Chandrasekhar reclaimed Nemom , which the BJP had lost to CPI(M)'s V.
Sivankutty in 2021 .
Gopakumar won Chathanoor , defeating CPI's R.
Rajendran and ending a streak of near-misses.
All three wins are concentrated in Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam districts, reflecting the party's southern Kerala base.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured three Kerala Assembly seats on 4 May, recording its best-ever tally in the state after a dramatic last-round victory in Kazhakootam sealed a historic electoral trifecta. The result marks an unprecedented expansion of the party's footprint in a state long dominated by the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the United Democratic Front (UDF).
Kazhakootam: The Nail-Biting Finale
Former Union Minister V. Muraleedharan edged past two-time Communist Party of India (Marxist) legislator Kadakampally Surendran by a razor-thin margin of just 265 votes, in a contest that saw multiple lead changes throughout the day before Muraleedharan surged ahead in the closing stages. The slender margin underscores both the intensity of the battle and the BJP's growing competitiveness in urban constituencies within the Thiruvananthapuram district.
Nemom and Chathanoor: Earlier Wins That Set the Stage
Rajeev Chandrasekhar's victory in Nemom carried significant symbolic weight, helping the BJP reclaim the constituency it first won in 2016 through veteran leader O. Rajagopal. The seat had slipped to CPI(M)'s V. Sivankutty in 2021, making this a meaningful recovery for the party. In Chathanoor, B.B. Gopakumar's win over Communist Party of India (CPI) candidate R. Rajendran opened the BJP's account in this election cycle, breaking a pattern of near-misses where the party had repeatedly finished second.
What the Triple Win Signals
Party leaders described the combined results as 'historic', pointing to the difficulty of gaining ground in Kerala's entrenched political landscape. Political observers note that while the BJP's overall tally remains modest, the triple strike signals a clear shift in momentum, with the party increasingly able to convert vote share into seats in select constituencies. This is the first time the BJP has won three Assembly seats in a single Kerala election cycle, moving the party beyond symbolic presence to a more tangible electoral footing in the state.
Broader Political Implications
Notably, all three wins are concentrated in constituencies within or near the Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam districts, suggesting the BJP's Kerala gains are currently anchored in southern pockets rather than spread statewide. Critics argue that the party must now demonstrate it can hold these seats and build organisational depth beyond urban clusters. According to political analysts, the results could reshape BJP's strategy heading into future Assembly contests, with the party likely to target similar urban and semi-urban constituencies where its vote share has been rising steadily.
What Comes Next
With wins in Nemom, Chathanoor, and Kazhakootam, the BJP has established a more credible base in Kerala than at any previous point. The party's leadership is expected to use these results to accelerate organisational expansion across the state, with an eye on consolidating its position ahead of the next Assembly election cycle.
Point of View
But the BJP's Kerala breakthrough is more significant than the numbers suggest. All three wins came in constituencies where the party had been building vote share quietly over multiple cycles — this is organisational patience paying off, not a sudden wave. The concentration in Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam, however, exposes the party's continued weakness in central and northern Kerala, where the LDF and UDF remain deeply entrenched. The real test is whether the BJP can hold these seats in 2026 and use them as springboards, or whether they remain isolated outposts in an otherwise hostile political terrain.
NationPress
8 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
How many Kerala Assembly seats has BJP won in 2025?
The BJP won three Kerala Assembly seats — Kazhakootam, Nemom, and Chathanoor — marking its best-ever performance in a single Kerala election cycle. The party had previously won only one or two seats at most in prior Assembly elections.
Who won the Kazhakootam seat and by how much?
Former Union Minister V. Muraleedharan won the Kazhakootam seat by a margin of just 265 votes over two-time CPI(M) legislator Kadakampally Surendran. The result was decided in the final round of counting after multiple lead changes throughout the day.
Who won the Nemom and Chathanoor seats for BJP?
Rajeev Chandrasekhar won Nemom, reclaiming the seat the BJP had lost to CPI(M)'s V. Sivankutty in 2021. B.B. Gopakumar won Chathanoor, defeating CPI candidate R. Rajendran in a constituency where the BJP had previously finished second multiple times.
Why is BJP's Kerala triple win considered historic?
It is the first time the BJP has won three Assembly seats in Kerala in a single election, moving the party beyond symbolic presence in a state long dominated by the LDF and UDF fronts. Political observers say it signals a structural shift in the party's competitiveness in select urban and semi-urban constituencies.
Which districts are BJP's Kerala wins concentrated in?
All three wins — Kazhakootam, Nemom, and Chathanoor — are in the Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam districts of southern Kerala, suggesting the BJP's current electoral strength in the state is anchored in the south rather than spread across all regions.
