India, Dec. 26 -- BJP leader VV Rajesh was sworn in as mayor of Thiruvananthapuram on Friday, after the party marked its first ever victory in a municipal corporation in Kerala.

The party won 50 of the 101 wards in the city in the municipal corporation polls, following which Rajesh secured 51 votes in the mayoral election on Friday, including the support of an independent councillor.

Rajesh becomes BJP's first-ever mayor in Kerala.

In the mayoral elections, P Sivaji of the LDF received 29 votes, and UDF candidate K S Sabarinathan got 19 votes, two of which were later declared invalid. Rajesh took oath after the mayoral elections, with senior BJP leaders, including state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar, former union minister V Muraleedha...