Thiruvananthapuram, October 1, 2026: Political tensions in Kerala intensified on Wednesday after back-to-back attacks on Congress party offices in Thiruvananthapuram district, which the Congress has linked to the fallout from a Youth Congress black-flag protest against Union Home Minister Amit Shah last week.

Unidentified persons set fire to the Anavoor Mandalam Committee office of the Congress at Paliyode Junction in Neyyattinkara late on Tuesday night. Posters of Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan and the late former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy were targeted.

Local residents and party workers extinguished the blaze before it could spread to the building. A suspect was later arrested in connection with the incident.

On Wednesday morning, Congress workers discovered that the windows and panels of the Thiruvananthapuram District Congress Committee (DCC) office near Bakery Junction had been shattered by stone-throwing. Police said the office’s own CCTV cameras were not functional and are examining footage from nearby cameras.

The incidents occurred against the backdrop of rising friction that began on September 26, when Youth Congress activists led by state vice-president Binu Chulliyil waved black flags at Shah’s convoy near Ashramam Ground in Kollam as the Home Minister travelled to events in the district.

The protest formed part of the Congress’s nationwide campaign demanding the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Police detained five activists. The BJP alleged a serious security and intelligence lapse and lodged complaints.

In the days that followed, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) workers staged retaliatory black-flag demonstrations targeting Congress leaders, including Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan, Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala and Sports Minister O.J. Janeesh, leading to scuffles in Kozhikode, Kannur and Thiruvananthapuram.

Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Sunny Joseph alleged that “BJP criminals” were behind the office attacks and threats issued to local Congress leaders, including the DCC secretary at his residence.

He described the incidents as “politics of goondaism” and linked them directly to the Shah protest and subsequent BJYM actions.

The BJP rejected the charges. State president Rajeev Chandrasekhar accused Congress workers of attacking the party’s Thiruvananthapuram South district president Mookkampalamoodu Biju and of targeting other BJP leaders and vehicles.

He termed the Congress’s conduct “political thuggery” and maintained that the original black-flag protest against Shah constituted a security breach.

Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala visited the damaged DCC office on Wednesday. He condemned attacks on political party offices as alien to Kerala’s democratic culture and assured that the police would take strict action against those responsible, without naming any organisation.

Security has been stepped up around major Congress and BJP offices across the state.

AICC General Secretary (Organisation) K.C. Venugopal has fully backed the original Youth Congress protest. He stated that Amit Shah is not immune to democratic dissent in a democratic country and described the black-flag demonstration as a legitimate organisational response linked to concerns over the functioning of the Election Commission.

Police investigations into the office attacks remain underway. Both sides continue to trade accusations of political violence and failure of law and order as the situation remains fluid.