Union home minister Amit Shah on Sunday laid out what he described as the Bharatiya Janata Party’s “ultimate goal” for Kerala: forming a BJP-led government in the state and installing a chief minister from the party ranks. Addressing newly elected local body representatives in Thiruvananthapuram, Shah positioned the BJP’s recent electoral gains as more than a breakthrough moment, calling them the foundation of a longer political journey aimed at reshaping Kerala’s governance, development trajectory, and security outlook.

Speaking to party workers and elected representatives, Shah said the BJP’s ambition in Kerala went beyond winning individual elections. The party, he argued, sought to usher in comprehensive development, safeguard the state’s social and cultural fabric, and confront what he described as “anti-national forces.” According to Shah, only the BJP and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) were equipped to meet these objectives in a state that has historically alternated between Left and Congress-led coalitions.

At the heart of Shah’s address was the BJP’s unexpected success in the Thiruvananthapuram local body elections. The BJP-led NDA secured 50 wards in the Thiruvananthapuram corporation, falling just one short of an absolute majority, while the ruling CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) was reduced to 29 wards. The outcome marked a dramatic departure from the city’s political history, ending 45 consecutive years of LDF rule in the corporation and signalling a significant shift in urban voter sentiment.

Shah framed this victory as symbolic rather than final. “This victory is not our goal, but a stepping stone towards achieving our goal,” he said, adding that the BJP’s ultimate aim was to see governance in Kerala carried out “under the lotus symbol,” the party’s emblem. He told party representatives that the Thiruvananthapuram result demonstrated that Kerala’s electorate was open to political change and ready to consider alternatives to long-established power structures.

Beyond Thiruvananthapuram, the BJP’s performance in the local body polls reflected a broader consolidation of its presence in the state. The party retained control of Palakkad and wrested Thrippunithura from the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF), underlining its ability to make inroads in regions previously dominated by its rivals. Shah described these gains as evidence that the BJP’s message was resonating across different sections of Kerala’s population, cutting across geography and traditional political loyalties.

In his speech, Shah linked Kerala’s future closely with the BJP-led central government’s long-term vision for the country. Citing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s goal of transforming India into a developed nation by 2047, Shah argued that Kerala had a crucial role to play in that national mission. “The path to a developed India goes through a developed Kerala,” he said, suggesting that the state’s human capital, literacy levels, and social indicators gave it the potential to become a model of growth if paired with what he called the right political leadership.

Shah repeatedly emphasised development and security as intertwined priorities. He asserted that Kerala’s economic progress, internal security, and protection of long-standing beliefs and traditions could only be ensured under an NDA government. Referring to the state’s religious and cultural heritage, Shah said the BJP was committed to preserving “the power of faith that has existed in Kerala for centuries,” while also ensuring that governance remained firm against forces he labelled anti-national.

The Union home minister did not spare Kerala’s traditional political rivals in his remarks. Taking aim at both the LDF and the UDF, Shah accused the two coalitions of indulging in what he called “match-fixing,” alleging that their alternating spells in power had resulted in stagnation rather than progress. According to him, despite Kerala’s immense potential, decades of governance by the Left and the Congress had failed to fully harness the state’s strengths or address its emerging challenges.

Shah also placed Kerala’s political dynamics within a broader national and global context. He claimed that Communist parties were losing relevance worldwide and that the Congress, too, was witnessing a steady decline across India. These trends, he suggested, were reflected in Kerala’s local body election results, where voters appeared increasingly willing to experiment beyond the state’s traditional Left-versus-Congress binary.

The BJP’s recent trajectory in Kerala has been marked by incremental but symbolically significant milestones. Last year’s Lok Sabha election saw actor-turned-politician Suresh Gopi secure a landmark victory for the BJP in the Thrissur constituency, making him one of the party’s most prominent faces in the state. Combined with the local body poll results, Shah argued, such victories demonstrated that the BJP was no longer a peripheral player in Kerala politics but an emerging force capable of challenging entrenched formations.

For decades, Kerala has stood apart from much of India’s electoral map, with the BJP struggling to translate its national dominance into sustained success in the state. High literacy rates, strong trade unionism, and a deeply rooted Left tradition have shaped Kerala’s political culture. Shah’s speech acknowledged this history implicitly, even as it sought to project confidence that the BJP could overcome these structural barriers through grassroots expansion and sustained organisational work.

Addressing newly elected representatives, Shah urged them to treat their roles as instruments of change and proof of the BJP’s capacity to govern responsibly at the local level. He emphasised that effective performance in municipalities and corporations would be crucial in building public trust and laying the groundwork for future Assembly-level success. According to him, local governance would serve as the testing ground for the BJP’s development agenda in Kerala.

Shah’s visit and remarks come at a time when Kerala’s political landscape is showing signs of churn. While the LDF continues to govern the state and the UDF remains a formidable opposition, the BJP’s growing vote share and expanding footprint suggest a gradual but notable shift. Whether this momentum can be converted into a full-fledged Assembly victory remains an open question, but Shah’s declaration of intent leaves little doubt about the party’s aspirations.

By presenting the Thiruvananthapuram victory as a milestone rather than a culmination, Amit Shah sought to send a clear message to both supporters and opponents: the BJP sees Kerala not as an exception to its national rise, but as a state where long-term persistence could eventually yield power. For the party’s cadre in Kerala, his speech was both a celebration of recent success and a call to intensify efforts toward what he described as the BJP’s ultimate goal—a government in Thiruvananthapuram led by the lotus symbol.