In a spirited speech at Palakkad, Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the United Democratic Front (UDF), Kerala’s two major political parties, of keeping the state trapped in an endless cycle of corruption and political opportunism.
At a high-octane election rally ahead of the April 9 state legislative assembly elections, Modi claimed that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is building momentum in Kerala and will be the next government.
“For decades, the people of Kerala have been caught in the cycle of one party looting (the LDF) and then the next party continuing the same practice (the UDF),” Modi said.
BJP Positions Itself as the “Real A-Team”.
At the rally, Modi denied any suggestion that the BJP was a secondary party in the political landscape of Kerala.
Modi went on to state that the LDF parties and the UDF frequently accuse each other of supporting the BJP behind the scenes during elections.
“I can prove that when both LDF and UDF accuse one another of being the BJP’s B team, then this is a confirmation of one fact,” said Modi to his followers. “The only true A team in Kerala’s political system is the BJP along with the NDA.”
The Prime Minister also stated that, as is evident by the growing number of criticisms from their opposition alliance, they are becoming more and more concerned with how fast the BJP’s popularity is increasing within the state.
Claims of Growing Support Among Youth and Women
Modi embodied a spirit of unity while calling upon his fellow party members to breathe new life into the ranks of party workers by informing them as to how the current state of politics in Kerala has shifted towards the NDA and that there are, therefore, more individuals who will vote for the NDA than before.
He told party members that the BJP was becoming more accepted by different sections of Kerala’s population, namely young people, women and farmers, and that these groups are supporting the NDA.
Prime Minister Modi asked all party members to continue to grow the NDA’s footprints as they head into the next election.
Also Read: “People Must Protest”: N. Ram Slams Iran Attack and India’s Foreign Policy Shift
Allegations of Corruption and Rising Debt
Modi commented on an increase in public debt from the left government and financial mismanagement from the left government. He said that more than a decade’s worth of increased debt has pushed the total amount of debt in Kerala above ₹ 5 lakh crore for a threefold increase.
Modi asserts that the people are going to wonder about where that is going and how it is getting into the pockets of LDF leaders.
Modi stated that there will be an NDA government in power in the state if there is any corruption involving the LDF and the UDF, and there will be a government investigation into that.
Attack on Congress–Left Alliances in Other States
The Prime Minister further stated that the Congress and the Left have been traditionally forming coalitions in many states across India, while also recently presenting themselves as political rivals here in Kerala. Examples include Bihar, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, Assam and Tamil Nadu. In the Prime Minister’s view, this demonstrates that they’re actually political allies outside of Kerala, but they choose to act as if they oppose each other in this one state.
Also Read: Inside India’s 200-Year-Old Royal Kitchen That Never Stopped Feeding People
Focus on Development and Infrastructure
PM Modi stressed the various development programmes initiated by Gujarat’s federal government, and that Kerala has received increased funding from the NDA Rajasthan government in terms of projects such as infrastructure improvements and U.S. educational centres. They also included IIT Palakkad and many other rail, road and industry projects.
Appeal to Voters and BJP Workers
Modi encouraged people to back BJP candidate Shobha Surendran, who is running for office in Palakkad. He reminded voters that in prior elections the BJP put forth well-known engineer E. Sreedharan as their candidate; he is affectionately referred to as the “Metro Man” because of his work on all aspects of the metro rail construction project. While Sreedharan finished second in that election, the prime minister expressed confidence that with continued voter support from this election, the BJP will take advantage of that success and win this time around.
Election Battle Intensifies
The state of Kerala has typically been governed by the alternating control of nationally based coalitions consisting of either the Left Democratic Front (LDF) or the United Democratic Front (UDF), with very little success for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in achieving a strong electoral presence. In view of that, it can reasonably be concluded that Prime Minister Modi’s speech represented an intention by the BJP to increase its campaign activities in the state of Kerala with the intention of being positioned as a legitimate alternative to the two major fronts. With the election scheduled for April 09, 2020, Kerala will likely see an increasing level of political rhetoric from all parties as they prepare to compete to influence who will form the next government in Kerala.
