BJP will never make inroads in Kerala: Chennithala

PTI, May 24, 2019, 4:37 PM IST

Thiruvananthapuram: The massive sweep of the Congress led United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala proves that the BJP will never make inroads in the state, senior party leader Ramesh Chennithala said here Friday.

In a ‘meet the press’ organised by the Press Club of Thiruvananthapuram, after the Congress party’s stellar performance in the state in the Lok Sabha polls, he said the UDF’s “secular attitude” had kept the saffron party at bay. The UDF had won 19 of the 20 LS seats in the state.

Chennithala alleged that the Centre’s step-motherly attitude and the three years of LDF government’s “misrule” had helped the Front emerge victorious, apart from Rahul Gandhi’s candidature.

“We have proved that the BJP will never make inroads in Kerala. It was the secular attitude and policies of the United Democratic Front (UDF) that kept the saffron party at bay…

Three factors led to the landslide victory of UDF in Kerala. The first one is the step-motherly attitude of Narendra Modi government and the anti-Modi wave.

The second is the three-year-long misrule of LDF government and the third is the Rahul wave in the state after he decided to contest from Kerala,” Chennithala said.

The Opposition leader said the policies of both the centre and the state were not acceptable to the people of the state.

Chennithala said it was the Left government that gave fodder for the communal parties in the state.

“What was the hurry in implementing the Supreme Court verdict on Sabarimala?.

It was the Left government in the state that gave fodder for the communal elements in the state to destroy the democratic parties”, he said.

The Left wanted to avoid the Congress and make the fight between LDF and the BJP. However, the saffron party saw it as a golden opportunity, Chennithala said.

Pointing out that the BJP allegedly tried to exploit the beliefs of devotees in the Sabarimala issue, he said, the people however understood the “double standards” of the Sangh Parivar and rejected their politics.

“We (Congress) had a consistent stand. We were with the devotees and not exploiting the issue. The people of Kerala rejected the exploitation of the BJP and Sangh Parivar.

This result is an indication that the BJP, RSS, Sangh Parivar will not be able to make inroads in the secular Kerala,” he said.

Chennithala also favoured the Yechury line of CPI(M) and said the Left should have stuck to it.

“We are not for weakening the secular forces. The CPI(M) should have taken the Yechuri way. Instead of fighting the communal forces, they were fighting against us,” he said.

CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury had favoured joining hands with like-minded parties, including Congress, to oppose the Sangh Parivar politics across various states, including West Bengal.

However, the tactical line was opposed as the party was fighting the Congress in Kerala.

The Congress led UDF won 19 out of 20 Lok Sabha seats in the state, leaving just one consolatory win for the Left in the Alappuzha constituency.