Trouble For Gopi, Opportunity For Tharoor: What Kerala Local Body Results Really Reveal

Last Updated:December 13, 2025, 13:42 IST

The 2025 local body polls in Kerala are clearly a stark contrast of loud failures and subtle wins and smart politicking

BJP's Suresh Gopi (Left) and Congress' Shashi Tharoor (Right).

The Kerala local body election results are no doubt a portend of the massive anti-incumbency that is gripping the Pinarayi Vijayan government, which has benefitted both UDF and NDA.

However, a more compelling story it tells is that of two state MPs who have consistently shown a willingness to act on their own political instincts regardless of party lines.

It tells two different stories for Thrissur’s firebrand actor-MP Suresh Gopi, and Thiruvananthapuram’s suave diplomat-turned-MP Shashi Tharoor.

Gopi’s aggressive campaigns and bluster have clearly failed to deliver BJP gains in Thrissur district. Though BJP’s huge advances in Thiruvananthapuram Corporation signal good news for Tharoor amidst his not-so-subtle flirtations with the saffron party.

Thrissur Rejects Bluster

When Gopi stormed into Parliament, winning the cultural capital of Kerala in 2024, he had all the swagger of a heavyweight celebrity. He exuded confidence of the man who had delivered the BJP’s first Lok Sabha win in the state. He promised to turn Thrissur saffron.

And indeed, he did. The BJP’s campaign was most visible in the temple town. A road trip through the district ahead of the local body elections showed massive number of posters and hoardings for even candidates contesting small panchayat wards. Gopi’s Kalunku Sabhas or outreach programmes were pipped to make further inroads among voters, but turned controversial, confrontational and earned him bad repute.

But Gopi’s boastful forecasts and theatrics have clearly have not worked for the local voters. The UDF’s resurgence in wards across panchayats and the corporation suggests voters have rebuffed his swagger in favour of candidates who have stayed grounded in local concerns.

The BJP was relegated to the third place in the Thrissur Corporation. The NDA had not won a single village panchayat in the district till the time of publication of the report.

It did not help that Gopi was embroiled in controversy over his voting status in Thrissur just days before the local body elections.. Congress and Left had questioned why he was registered as a voter in Thiruvananthapuram when he was the Thrissur MP. Gopi’s answer that he sold his Thrissur home was not very convincing.

Gopi’s bluster worked once, but it hasn’t built durable trust in him as a credible leader when it comes to bread-and-butter issues. In his theatrical style, Gopi has been complaining of loss of income as actor since he became a Union minister, and had indicated he wanted to quit. It will be interesting to see if this abysmal result in Thrissur will make his wish come true.

A Capital Shift

Down south, it’s a completely different story for the BJP. The massive mandate in Thiruvananthapuram Corporation is a big, big win for the saffron party and its state president Rajeev Chandrashekhar.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Chandrashekhar had lost the Thiruvananthapuram seat to Tharoor in a closely fought battle. But it might be a loss that he does not regret for too long.

Tharoor has for long been making overtures to the BJP for over a year. From praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi to skipping Rahul Gandhi’s meetings in a row, he has clearly signalled that he is keeping options open. He has also been clearly fuelling speculations that he is considering jumping ship.

A recent example, a rumour spread just before local body polling by his own fans that he is being considered by the Centre for an award named after Veer Savarkar. Tharoor promptly denied it after casting his vote in Thiruvananthapuram. But the message for the BJP voters had been conveyed.

A four-time MP, Tharoor knows that his parliamentary run will not last long. Tharoor has long been eyeing a bigger role in the state, which has been opposed by his party colleagues in the Congress who see him as an outsider.

So far, Congress high command has been hesitant to act against Tharoor for his overtures to BJP. But now with a major resurgence of the UDF seen in local body elections, it is feasible that calls for action against Tharoor will become louder in the state unit.

In such a situation, the BJP’s sweep in Thiruvananthapuram lends confidence. If the Congress acts against him, he may be happy to part ways of his own volition, forcing a parliamentary by-election in Thiruvananthapuram. It will be possibly held along with the state assembly elections.

Since Tharoor wants a more visible role, it is also not infeasible that BJP would be happy extending either a Lok Sabha ticket or an assembly ticket for him.

If a parliamentary by-election happens, the BJP will face it with an upper hand. In a city like Thiruvananthapuram, where Congress and Left have traditionally been strong, the BJP doing so well locally has big ramifications for upcoming 2026 assembly elections.

In earlier state elections, the BJP had pinned hope only in Nemom assembly constituency. But now the seats of Nemom, Thiruvananthapuram, Vattiyooukavu, and Kazhakoottam are all in play.

If indeed Tharoor is persuaded to contest from any of these assembly seats, it would only be fitting that he makes way for the man he defeated, Rajeev Chandrashekhar, to be become the BJP’s candidate for a parliamentary by-election that will be held.

The 2025 local body polls in Kerala are clearly a stark contrast of loud failures and subtle wins and smart politicking.

News elections Trouble For Gopi, Opportunity For Tharoor: What Kerala Local Body Results Really Reveal

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