‘We aim for a corruption-free administration’: BJP’s R Sreelekha after electoral win in Thiruvananthapuram

Thiruvananthapuram: R Sreelekha, widely regarded as the BJP’s mayoral candidate in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, celebrated her victory in the Sasthamangalam ward and said that she aims to ensure a corruption-free administration from day one if allowed to serve the public.

Speaking to Mathrubhumi News, former DGP said the BJP leadership would decide whether she would become the party’s first woman mayor in the city. Sreelekha defeated the LDF’s young candidate Amrita in Sasthamangalam.

Other notable victories in the corporation elections included VV Rajesh, a former district president and current councillor, who won from Kodunganoor ward and is considered a potential mayoral candidate. The UDF mayoral candidate KS Sabarinathan secured victory in Kowdiar ward, while LDF candidate G Venugopal won in Thycaud ward, where BJP candidate A Kasthuri, brother of A Sampath, was defeated. Former Mayor K. Sreekumar emerged victorious in the Chacka ward.

Some high-profile defeats included actor and Kerala Congress B leader Poojapura Radhakrishnan, who lost in Jagathy ward to the BJP, and senior Congress leader Johnson Joseph, who was defeated by LDF’s Liju S in Ulloor ward.

Independent candidate Pattoor Radhakrishnan, a former Press Club secretary, won in Kannammoola ward. Trupti Raj, daughter of current Deputy Mayor S Raju, was defeated in Pattom ward, where UDF candidate Reshma C won.

In the Vanchiyoor ward, LDF candidate Babu secured victory. He is a potential mayoral contender for the Left if it returns to power. His daughter, Gayatri Babu, had previously served as a councillor when the ward was under women’s reservation.

Congress candidate Mary Pushpam won in Kunnukuzhi ward, home to the AKG Study and Research Centre, defeating CPM Palayam Area Committee member IP Binu, a prominent LDF leader in the capital. The LDF also lost in Palayam ward, where its new state committee office is located, marking another setback for the Left in the city.