R Sreelekha’s transition from the top police post to active electoral politics underscores the increasing politicisation of institutions expected to remain neutral
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM — Kerala’s first woman IPS officer and former Director General of Police R Sreelekha’s victory in Sasthamangalam ward in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation on Saturday as a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate raises questions over the growing overlap between senior police officials and partisan politics.
The BJP projects her victory as a symbolic breakthrough in the state capital, which has largely remained resistant to the party’s electoral expansion. Party leaders see her entry into electoral politics as part of a broader strategy to challenge the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) in urban centres.
Critics, however, argue that her transition from the highest echelons of the police force to active electoral politics underscores the increasing politicisation of institutions expected to remain neutral. They point out that the police, as an arm of the state, is constitutionally mandated to function independently of party politics, and such high-profile political entries risk eroding public trust in institutional impartiality.
At present, the BJP has emerged as the single largest party in the 101-member Thiruvananthapuram Corporation with 34 seats, followed by the LDF with 20 and the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) with 16 seats, while counting of the remaining wards continues.
Sreelekha’s entry into the BJP earlier this year had surprised many, given her long and influential career in the police force. Her decision to contest local body elections soon after joining the party further intensified scrutiny of the BJP’s outreach to former senior bureaucrats and police officials.
The campaign was also marred by controversy. On polling day, December 9, Sreelekha shared what was described as a pre-poll survey on social media, claiming an advantage for the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the corporation elections.
Opposition leaders accused her of violating the Model Code of Conduct, noting that the Election Commission explicitly prohibits the publication or circulation of opinion or exit polls on polling day. State Education Minister V Sivankutty termed the act a “serious breach” of election norms.
Although Sreelekha later deleted the post following the backlash, critics argue that the episode reinforced concerns about adherence to electoral rules and ethical standards by high-profile candidates with institutional backgrounds.
In the outgoing Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, of the 100 wards, the CPI(M)-led LDF held 51 seats, while the BJP-led NDA had 35, with the remaining seats held by the Congress-led UDF and Independents.
Observers say Sreelekha’s victory, while electorally limited to a single ward, carries implications beyond municipal politics, reopening questions about the blurring of lines between governance, law enforcement and partisan ambition in contemporary politics of the country.
