By April 9, campaigning for the Kerala Assembly elections will conclude. The Congress, BJP, and the ruling LDF have been intensifying attacks on each other. The LDF released a report claiming it has fulfilled 97% of its 2021 promises.
A total of 2.71 crore voters, including 1.32 crore men, 1.39 crore women, and 273 transgender persons, along with over 2.42 lakh overseas voters, are eligible to vote, according to the Election Commission.
The election will determine the fate of 890 candidates contesting in 140 constituencies. The campaign has been marked by sharp exchanges, including Congress allegations of a deal between the CPI(M) and the BJP, and claims of mismanagement of funds collected by the Congress for housing victims of landslides in Wayanad.
The 2024 landslides caused more than 200 deaths.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held multiple rallies and roadshows for NDA candidates in the state.
As the election countdown begins, top leaders of the BJP, including Home Minister Amit Shah, and Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, intensified their campaign in the state on Monday.
The ruling LDF's campaign was led by CPI(M) veteran and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
Earlier in the day, Shah held a large roadshow for BJP candidate Sandeep Vachaspati in Haripad, the constituency of senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala, who has been renominated.
Rahul and Priyanka addressed campaign meetings for candidates of the Congress-led alliance in Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, and Kannur districts, alleging a deal between the BJP and the CPI(M) to defeat the Congress-led UDF.
Rahul alleged that "there is a hidden hand helping the LDF against the UDF" at a campaign meeting in Mala in Thrissur.
He also criticized Prime Minister Modi and Chief Minister Vijayan, claiming they have a mindset of ruling over people rather than working with them.
Addressing a corner meeting in Christian-dominated Peravoor in Kannur district, Priyanka alleged that the LDF had made a deal with the BJP, which she said "harasses" minorities, especially the Christian community and nuns.
She also raised concerns about the theft of gold from Sabarimala, alleging that the PM's silence suggests a "political understanding".
Priyanka further alleged that those who speak against the PM face cases from agencies such as the CBI, ED, or Income Tax Department, while no such cases exist against the CM.
The issue of relief funds for housing landslide-hit residents of Wayanad has become a major poll issue, putting the Congress on the defensive.
The CPI(M) has questioned the collection and use of funds, while the Congress's response, presented by its state chief Sunny Joseph, has drawn criticism and further fueled the controversy.
Meanwhile, the CPI(M)-led LDF released its progress report in Kannur, with Vijayan claiming that around 97 per cent of the promises made in 2021 had been fulfilled.
Releasing the report, he said, people have the right to know the extent to which election promises have been implemented.
Vijayan said that of the 900 promises made in the 2021 manifesto, around 97 per cent had either been fulfilled or reached an effective stage of implementation.
He added that five lakh houses had been completed under the LIFE Mission to realise the dream of housing for ordinary people.
Congress leader V D Satheesan mocked the claim, saying the report had been reduced from 328 pages to 24 pages and misrepresented housing achievements.
He alleged that while the government claims to have built five lakh houses in 10 years, the actual figure is closer to 4.5 lakh, with some houses from the previous administration included in the count.
Satheesan claimed that the report hides the fact that the Oommen Chandy government had achieved nearly five lakh houses in just five years.
The Congress has alleged a tacit understanding between the CPI(M) and the Social Democratic Party of India—the political arm of the banned Islamist outfit Popular Front of India (PFI)—in parts of Kerala, claiming indirect electoral support, a charge denied by the CPI(M).
Heading the BJP campaign in the state, party leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar alleged that Congress is functioning under the "remote control" of the Indian Union Muslim League.
He claimed there was a "political deal" between the two parties, with Congress no longer taking independent decisions and compromising its stand for vote-bank politics.
He also dismissed any possibility of a BJP-CPI(M) understanding, asserting that the BJP remains the only party "exposing" the Left.