The newly elected BJP councillors of the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation, led by mayor V.V. Rajesh, left for New Delhi on a train on Monday to attend a reception hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday.

The reception to be organised at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg, is being seen as a signal to the BJP’s national leadership to leverage the Thiruvananthapuram corporation breakthrough ahead of the Kerala Assembly elections.

The Kerala BJP ended four decades of CPM rule in the 101-member Thiruvananthapuram corporation in the recently held local body elections.

Rajesh told The Telegraph that various district and state BJP leaders organised felicitation programmes for them at major railway stations.

“After the sendoff at Thiruvananthapuram station, we were felicitated at Kollam, Mavelikkara, Ernakulam, Palakkad and Coimbatore stations. On Tuesday and Wednesday, receptions have been scheduled at Vijayawada, Warangal, Nagpur, Gwalior Junction, Mathura and New Delhi,” he added.

He said the team was scheduled to visit Parliament to meet a few Union ministers to ensure Thiruvananthapuram’s transformation into a world- class city.