»How Turkey's Hagia Sophia Propelled CPI(M) to Big Win in Kerala Local Body Elections 6-MIN READ How Turkey's Hagia Sophia Propelled CPI(M) to Big Win in Kerala Local Body Elections Left Democratic Front (LDF) supporters celebrate their party's win in the Kerala local body elections in Kochi, on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020. (PTI Photo) The reconversion of Hagia Sophia- originally founded as a cathedral - had a bigger impact on a section of voters in the local body elections, especially Christians in central Kerala, than the gold smuggling racket. FOLLOW US ON: When Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced his decision to turn the famous Hagia Sophia museum in Istanbul into a mosque in the second week of July, it coincided with the arrival of central investigative agencies from New Delhi in Kerala, some 6,000 kilometres away, for unearthing a gold smuggling racket conducted through a diplomatic channel.