Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrived in Kochi on Friday for a day-long visit aimed at preparing the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) state leadership ahead of the upcoming local body elections in Kerala.
Attending the state leadership meeting with him will be Union Ministers of State Suresh Gopi and George Kurian, state BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar, former party chiefs Kummanam Rajasekharan, PK Krishnadas, V Muraleedharan and K Surendran, along with office-bearers and district presidents.
This marks Shah’s second trip to Kerala within two months.
During his July visit, he had laid out the party’s roadmap, directing the state unit to focus on winning the corporations of Thiruvananthapuram and Thrissur, and to target at least 10 municipalities.
Shah has recently stressed the importance of stronger grassroots mobilisation and improving the BJP’s presence in local governance, where the party has traditionally faced challenges.
Kerala has a vast system of local governance with 23,612 wards across Gram Panchayats, Block Panchayats, District Panchayats, Municipalities, and Corporations.
In the 2020 elections, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) maintained its dominance, securing 514 Gram Panchayats, 108 Block Panchayats, and five of the six Corporations.
The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) also retained a solid base, while the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) managed only limited success.
Against this backdrop, Shah’s visit aims to boost the morale of the state cadre and push for a stronger performance in the upcoming polls.
Following Friday’s leadership meeting, a two-day state-level workshop will be held in Thrissur from Saturday, focusing on campaign strategy, candidate selection, and organisational strengthening.
Meanwhile, authorities imposed traffic restrictions in Kochi between 11 AM and 2 PM on Friday to facilitate the Home Minister’s visit.
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