In his media address after the party announced its mayoral candidate on Thursday, Rajesh had said that the party will strive to make Thiruvananpuram one of the best three cities in the country.

“A strong opposition will do good. We will take them into confidence,” he said, adding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the city in 45 days.   

The saffron party held consultations at different levels before selecting Rajesh over former DGP Sreelekha, who won from the Sasthamangalam ward on the party ticket. 

It is learnt that the strong backing of RSS helped Rajesh to stake a claim for the coveted post. Also, a section of party leaders had opposed Sreelekha’s candidature, citing her lack of political experience. They view that the party, which does not have an absolute majority, needs someone possessing better political acumen to lead them in the tumultuous days ahead.

CM congratulates Rajesh

In a friendly gesture, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan congratulated Rajesh over the phone on Friday morning.   

VV Rajesh

A graduate in Law, VV Rajesh is currently serving as the state secretary of the BJP.

This is his second term as a councillor of the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation. Formerly, he had served as Thiruvananthapuram district president of the party. 

He hails from Karipur near Nedumangad in Thiruvananthapuram. His wife, Nithya S. Nair, is a former IT employee.

The couple has two sons–withthe elder one an LLB student and the younger one in school.   

GS Ashanath

BJP’s Deputy Mayor candidate G.S. Ashanath scored a hat-trick as a councillor this time. She represents the Karumam ward. Ashanath’s maiden victory was in the 2017 bypoll, following the death of councillor Karumam Chandran. A senior local leader of the party, Chandran, died of an electric shock from an iron box.