The Kerala unit of the BJP, under its new leadership, is aiming to capture two corporations, 25 municipalities, and 400 Gram Panchayats in the local body polls scheduled for November 2025.

The BJP is targeting a majority in the Thiruvananthapuram and Thrissur corporations and aims to come second in the Kollam and Kozhikode corporations. The party is also eyeing victories in 400 panchayats and 25 municipalities. It has already begun preparations to contest and win in 15,000 wards across various local bodies.

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A party leadership meeting held here on Saturday decided to focus more attention on municipalities and village panchayats where it lost power by narrow margins or where its candidates lost by a small number of votes.

The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) currently controls two municipalities—Palakkad and Pandalam—as well as 19 gram panchayats in the state. At present, the front has close to 1,600 ward members across Kerala and is looking to significantly increase this number.

The leadership meeting also resolved to strengthen the party’s grassroots-level work. “Developed Kerala” has been adopted as the BJP’s slogan for the upcoming local body and assembly elections.

The party remains divided on whether to field a candidate in the upcoming Nilambur by-election. At Saturday’s BJP core committee meeting, a majority of leaders favored staying away from the electoral battle in Nilambur, considering it is not a traditional BJP stronghold.

However, if the party decides not to contest and instructs its cadre to vote according to their conscience, it could open the door for the Left Front and UDF to accuse the BJP of vote trading.

To address this, a party sub-committee will assess the political scenario in Nilambur before making a final decision, which will be taken in consultation with NDA allies in Kerala and the BJP’s national leadership.

Meanwhile, the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha has announced its intention to contest the Nilambur by-election. The state president of the Hindu Mahasabha, Swami Bhadrananda, stated that if the BJP opts out, his party will field a candidate.

He also questioned the BJP’s leadership in the state, asserting that the party’s growth is not only driven by electoral victories but also by its commitment to dharma-centric ideologies and its ability to inspire the cadre.