The party's ambitious restructuring, featuring fresh faces and historic appointments of women and minority communities, faces early tests as it navigates internal dissent, alliance troubles, and a potential leadership change.
Published Jan 28, 2025 | 9:00 AM ⚊ Updated Jan 28, 2025 | 9:00 AM
BJP State President K Surendran
Last December, the Kerala unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) decided to reorganise the state’s 14 revenue districts into 30 new organisational districts in a significant move to strengthen its presence.
Of these, four districts – Ernakulam, Thrissur, Malappuram and Kozhikode – have each been split into three organisational districts. Seven other revenue districts have been divided into two organisational units each, while Kasaragod, Wayanad and Pathanamthitta remain as single units.
Each of Kerala’s 140 legislative assembly constituencies has similarly been divided into two organisational constituencies, bringing the total to 280.
K Surendran at the BJP Thrissur headquarters.
On Monday, 27 January, the BJP appointed 27 district presidents for these newly formed organisational districts.
The restructuring, though ambitious and aimed at enhancing the party’s prospects in upcoming local body and legislative assembly elections, has not been without challenges.
The first test came in Palakkad, where internal rifts required the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) intervention to maintain stability.
This comes even as the state unit confronts multiple challenges – from alliance partner Bharath Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS) hinting at an exit to questions over a potential change in state leadership, with president K Surendran ostensibly seeking an exit.
For a party known for its conservative politics, the BJP has put an emphasis on inclusivity in its organisational restructure, naming four women to lead the party among the 27 new organisational district presidents – a first for the state.
They are ML Aswani in Kasaragod, Deepa Puzhakkal in Malappuram, Nivethitha Subrahmanian in Thrissur West and Raji Prasad in Kollam.
Similarly, the party has appointed three Christian leaders as district presidents – Justin Jacob in Thrissur City, Roy Chacko in Kottayam East and VC Varghese in Idukki South.
Furthermore, among the 269 constituency committees, 34 will be led by women. Fourteen individuals from the Christian community and 32 from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes have been appointed to these committees.
During the announcement, BJP State President K Surendran contrasted these appointments with the lack of women leaders in other parties.
“How many DCC [District Congress Committee] leaders are women? How many CPI(M) [Communist Party of India (Marxist)] district secretaries are women?” he asked.
In Palakkad, the reorganisation sparked internal conflict, with councillors in the municipality, the only one the party governs in Kerala, unhappy with the appointment of Prasanth Sivan as the BJP’s district president for Palakkad East.
Several councillors argued that Sivan lacked the necessary experience to lead the district. Some stated that a minimum of five years of active party involvement and an age above 40 should be prerequisites for the position.
Prasanth Sivan
Soon, seven councillors from the municipality threatened to resign if Sivan assumed the role. Tensions escalated when four more councillors, including the municipal chairperson and vice chairperson, joined the dissenters.
It was only when the RSS, which serves as both the ideological foundation and often the organisational support for the party, stepped in to mediate the dispute that the situation de-escalated.
The municipal chairperson, initially set to resign, ultimately decided to stay on, while Vice Chairperson E Krishnadas confirmed his attendance at the ceremony to formally announce Prasanth Sivan’s appointment.
Despite the resolution, dissatisfaction remains among the key figures involved in the dispute, including the chairperson, who have conveyed their concerns to the national BJP leadership.
Notably, those who had initially opposed Sivan’s appointment were conspicuously absent during the subsequent events.
Following Congress’s victory in the November 2024 Palakkad bypoll, the party has been strategising to counter the BJP and RSS’s strong influence in the district.
Seeking to leverage the internal crisis within the Palakkad BJP, Congress has launched “Operation Sandeep G Varier.”
Varier, who recently switched from the BJP to Congress, has openly approached BJP councillors who threatened to resign. He stated that if rebel councillors clarify their positions, Congress leadership stands ready to steer the situation in their favour.
Though tensions within the BJP ranks have subsided, Congress remains optimistic, particularly after several BJP councillors skipped Prasanth Sivan’s presidential oath-taking ceremony. Meanwhile, rebel councillors are still awaiting a response from the central leadership.
“I spoke to the rebels, and they expressed that my decision to leave the BJP was the right one,” Varier said.
The Congress has since appointed Varier as spokesperson for the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), a move endorsed by KPCC President K Sudhakaran and communicated by General Secretary M Liju.
The BDJS, a key BJP ally in the NDA in Kerala, faces internal discontent over its alliance with the latter, reportedly prompting the party to explore alternative political partnerships.
The Ezhava community, which forms a significant portion of Kerala’s population, has traditionally supported either the CPI(M) or the Congress. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, however, many Ezhavas shifted away from the Left, benefiting both the NDA and United Democratic Front (UDF).
Under Thushar Vellapally’s leadership, the BDJS has expressed frustration over its limited political gains within the NDA. At a recent meeting in Kottayam, the party suggested aligning with either the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) or the Congress-led UDF to maintain political relevance.
This potential shift coincides with growing anti-incumbency sentiment against the CPI(M)-led LDF government, which has reportedly approached BDJS for collaboration. Similarly, the UDF has shown interest in welcoming BDJS as a partner for the 2026 assembly elections.
With local body elections approaching, attention now turns to the BDJS’s state committee meeting on 1 February, which will determine the party’s direction.
K Surendran, the incumbent state president of the BJP in his fifth year of leading the party, has reportedly requested to step down after serving for five years.
However, the central leadership remains apprehensive about initiating a leadership change with elections looming. Especially since, under Surendran’s guidance, the BJP has seen significant strides, particularly in Thrissur and across Kerala, earning commendation from the party’s top brass.
Meanwhile, his potential successors include names like MT Ramesh and Shobha Surendran, with V Muraleedharan and former Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar also gaining attention.
Muraleedharan’s influence is backed by several factions who credit him with driving internal reforms within the party in Kerala. Chandrasekhar, who has strengthened ties with the central leadership and expanded his base in Thiruvananthapuram, is also seen as a potential candidate.
Surendran assumed leadership following PS Sreedharan Pillai’s appointment as Mizoram governor in 2020. Should the central leadership extend his term, he could emerge as an even more influential force within the BJP. The question remains: will the party retain his leadership or opt for change?
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
