Kollam (Keralan) [India], April 2 : With just one week left for the Keralan Assembly polls, the United Democratic Front (UDF) candidates on Thursday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is "not a serious player" in the state, while also claiming that the party would rather have the LDF led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in the state.
UDF candidate from Chavara constituency and Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) leader Shibu Baby John claimed that even Prime Minister Narendra Modi knows that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is not a serious player. He pointed out that while the PM goes to election-bound states multiple times, for Keralam, he has only visited once.
"What I am surprised by is that usually the Prime Minister, whenever there are elections, he goes repeatedly, but here he is coming for just one day. He knows fully well that in Keralam they (NDA) are not a serious player. He is coming just for show," the UDF candidate told ANI.
He further reiterated the claims of CPM-led LDF being the "B-team" of BJP, an accusation repeated multiple times. He said that there is no difference in the actions of either party and that there is a lot of anti-incumbency in the state.
"BJP and Narendra Modi do not want to dislodge Pinarayi (Vijayan), that is a fact. They prefer Pinarayi continuing here; they want Congress out. They have been trying to create a false perception, a divide between minorities, trying to appear to be close to the catholic church. We have rightly pointed out that this is a replica of what has happened in Hitler's Nazi Germany," he added.
Congress' Kollam candidate Bindhu Krishna also claimed that both the BJP and LDF only make large promises but cannot fulfil them. She said that Congress, on the other hand, has fulfilled its guarantees in Telangana and Karnataka.
"You may go through the BJP and LDF manifestos; they are giving promises to people, but can't fulfil them. But you look at Congress, whether in Karnataka or Telangana, we have fulfilled the promises. You may look at states ruled by the BJP; have they fulfilled promises? Narendra Modi goes to the state and says things, but people of Kerala are very much secular," she said.
She also repeated the 'B-team' jibe at CPI(M), adding, "If you look at the politics, you can see that there is a nexus meeting between BJP and CPM."
UDF candidate and RSP leader Vishnu Mohan praised Priyanka Gandhi's speech in Kollam, while also claiming that the BJP has "no role in Keralam".
"The BJP has nothing in Kerala; they have no role in Kerala politics. But the UDF looks at the issues of the people. NDA propaganda is nothing," he said.
Earlier today, while addressing a public rally, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi accused Prime Minister Modi of not "standing up for India" and "bowing down to Israel and America" amid the recent price hike of LPG and other fuels.
She said, "LPG and fuel prices are all rising; trade is going to become more difficult under the circumstances. In the middle of all this, what is the policy of our central government under Narendra Modi? He is not fighting for his people. He is not fighting for India. He is not standing up for India. All he is doing is bowing down to America, bowing down to Israel."
Polling for the 2026 Keralam Legislative Assembly elections will be held on April 9, with the counting of votes on May 4. The tenure of the current assembly is set to conclude on May 23.