BJP, BDJS end stalemate over seat-sharing in Thiruvananthapuram corporation elections

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The release of the BJPs list of 67 candidates for the Thiruvananthapuram corporation elections on Sunday triggered discontent within the NDA, with Bharath Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS) district president Prem Raj expressing dissatisfaction and announcing plans to field 20 candidates later in the evening. However, the issue was resolved on Monday after BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar held discussions with BDJS leaders at the partys state headqua-rters. From the BDJS side, Prem Raj, state general secretary Nedumangad Rajesh, and a few others attended. Dismissing reports of a rift, Rajeev said, Dialogues and discussions are part of the election process. The NDA will face the elections as a united front. There are no issues in the NDA camp, and we will release the remaining list of candidates in the coming days. Echoing similar sentiments, BDJS district president Prem Raj said, There were some disagreements, and we presented them at the meeting. We expect that our demands will be considered, and appropriate seat allocation will be made for the BDJS. As per the decision of the state leadership, we will face the election as a united front. BDJS had initially sought to contest in 11 wards but was not allotted any of the 67 seats announced on Sunday. Following Mondays discussions, the BDJS decided not to go ahead with its plan to release the list of 20 candidates. BJP sources described the BDJSs move as a pressure tactic and said the state leadership managed the situation effectively. In the 2020 elections, BDJS was allotted one seat but failed to win it, making it uncertain whether the BJP will allocate the 11 seats the party now demands. Thus, how far the BDJS has succeeded in its demands will be known only after the BJP releases the remaining list of candi-dates. Meanwhile, with the election dates announced, senior BJP leaders, including Rajeev Chandrasekhar, began campaigning for the partys candidates on Monday. We are putting forward a development-orientated vision and assuring a corruption-free administration. Ours is a politics of performance, Rajeev said. With the internal differences within the NDA resolved swiftly, the BJP is hopeful of making significant gains in the upcoming local body elections.