New Delhi, Jan. 23 -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) recent victory in the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation marks a turning point in Kerala's political history and is the beginning of a larger change in Kerala in favour of the saffron party.

PM Modi, addressing a rally in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, recalled how in 1987, the BJP started its journey in Gujarat by winning the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation for the first time. That victory in Ahmedabad, the prime minister said, was a breakthrough that went on to change Gujarat's political direction.

"People saw our work, judged our behaviour and the result of which is that the people of Gujarat have been trusting us for decades ...