From the way the ground is shifting, this is no longer just about whether the Bharatiya Janata Party can win Kerala — it is increasingly about when that moment finally comes.

There are regions where politics feels transactional — power traded for patronage and periodic promises. And then there is Kerala, where for decades politics, for countless karyakartas of the BJP and the wider nationalist movement, has meant something far deeper — and often, far costlier.

For years, party accounts and public discourse have spoken of roughly 300 BJP–RSS and allied workers losing their lives in political violence in Kerala. Behind every number is a face, a family, a half-finished dream — and yet those families chose courage over retreat.

I write this not as a detached commentator, but as a karyakarta who understands what working under watchful — sometimes hostile — eyes entails. Organising a booth meeting knowing every visitor is being quietly noted. Hoisting a flag in the evening fully aware it may be torn down by dawn. And returning the next morning regardless, because belief in a stronger India outweighs personal fear.

In Kerala, political work has never been casual participation. It has demanded quiet, stubborn courage. And that courage is now translating into a political shift that can no longer be dismissed.

Despite taunts, threats and tragedies, thousands of BJP workers continue to toil with one clear vision: Vikasita Keralam — a developed, self-confident, opportunity-driven Kerala aligned with a rising India.

The harvest of perseverance — now ripening

Political transformation rarely arrives with spectacle. It gathers strength slowly — ward by ward, booth by booth, household by household.

Over the past decade, the BJP-led NDA has steadily expanded its footprint in Kerala’s local bodies. Breakthroughs in urban centres such as Thiruvananthapuram, growing representation in municipalities, and a visible grassroots presence tell a simple story: the organisation is no longer peripheral; it is competitive.

In a state long defined by a Left–Congress binary, every additional ward gained signals something deeper. It indicates that voters are stepping beyond inherited loyalties and evaluating governance, delivery and development alignment with fresh eyes.

To an outside observer, a corporation gain or a few dozen wards may appear incremental. To a karyakarta who has endured intimidation or social isolation, each victory is transformative. It is proof that perseverance is being recognised. It is the electorate signalling — quietly but unmistakably — that it is ready to consider an alternative.

That is why today the BJP in Kerala is not merely expanding. It is positioning itself as the natural alternative in a system showing signs of fatigue.

Why the next Assembly election is different

The highest tribute to those who sacrificed their lives will not be a slogan or a memorial. It will be the day a BJP-led government takes oath in the Kerala Legislative Assembly and governs with confidence.

The path remains demanding. But the political equation has shifted.

Urban aspiration is assertive.

Cities such as Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi are home to professionals, entrepreneurs and first-time voters who prioritise jobs, infrastructure and quality of life over entrenched binaries.

Organisational depth is now an advantage.

Few parties in Kerala can match the BJP’s booth-level discipline and year-round cadre engagement. When contests tighten, organisation converts sentiment into seats.

Youth expectations are redefining the debate.

A highly educated generation increasingly questions why opportunity must lie outside Kerala. It listens closely to conversations around ports, start-ups, digital infrastructure and industrial expansion.

Centre-state alignment is becoming pragmatic, not ideological.

Voters recognise that cooperation with a strong and development friendly Union government can accelerate projects and investment.

Taken together, these are not fleeting factors. They are structural currents. The next Assembly election is no longer about symbolic presence; it is about serious contention.

The Centre’s imprint — and what it signals

Any fair assessment of Kerala’s recent development must acknowledge the role of the Union government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Vizhinjam International Seaport represents a defining example. With central viability gap funding support, a long-delayed project has moved into operational momentum. Strategically located near major global shipping lanes, Vizhinjam positions Kerala to become a key transshipment hub — opening avenues for logistics, maritime services and allied employment.

Infrastructure bottlenecks have also seen movement elsewhere. The long-pending Kollam bypass on NH-66 was completed after decades of delay. National highway upgrades, railway modernisation and urban development initiatives in Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi have strengthened the state’s physical backbone.

Beyond marquee projects, central schemes in housing, sanitation, financial inclusion, health and digital connectivity have directly benefited families across Kerala — irrespective of political preference.

The signal is clear: when alignment replaces confrontation, development accelerates.

Beyond ideology: a development proposition

Kerala’s literacy and social indicators are rightly celebrated. Yet persistent youth unemployment, limited industrial depth, fiscal strain and dependence on remittances pose serious challenges.

The BJP’s proposition in Kerala is therefore not confined to ideology. It is a development proposition.

It argues that a state rich in human capital must also become rich in enterprise and infrastructure. That ports like Vizhinjam, modern highways, start-up ecosystems and manufacturing corridors can create opportunity within Kerala — not compel migration beyond it.

This message increasingly resonates in neighbourhood meetings, campuses and professional circles: growth with stability, opportunity with alignment.

From sacrifice to mandate

Every BJP worker in Kerala carries memories of loss — a colleague who did not return home, a family that refused to bend, a parent who chose conviction over fear.

Those sacrifices were not acts of rage. They were acts of belief.

When a BJP-led government is formed in Kerala — and that moment now feels less distant than ever — it will not be because of a sudden wave. It will be the cumulative outcome of decades of disciplined organisation and patient service.

Democratic perseverance, when sustained over time, reshapes political landscapes.

The road from sacrifice to governance has been long. But today, for the first time, the destination appears within reach.

And when that sunrise comes, it will belong as much to the unnamed karyakarta as to any leader — because long before the spotlight arrived, it was the karyakarta who bore the cost, kept the flag flying and refused to let the flame go out.

END OF ARTICLE