Adoor (Kerala): The Congress on Monday claimed that the electoral atmosphere in Kerala is strongly in favour of the United Democratic Front (UDF), as it expressed confidence of a decisive victory in the Assembly elections.
Speaking to IANS, Congress MP K. Suresh said: “The atmosphere of the Kerala election is strongly in favour of the UDF. The UDF will win. Out of 140 seats, we are going to win around 100.”
He also spoke about the visit of senior party leader Rahul Gandhi to the state.
“Today, Rahul Gandhi visited the Adoor Assembly constituency and campaigned for the UDF candidate. He is also scheduled to campaign in four other constituencies later in the day,” Suresh added.
Earlier in the day, Gandhi launched his Assembly election campaign in Kerala with an aggressive note, alleging a “hidden understanding” between the ruling Left and the BJP, even as he rolled out a series of welfare promises for voters ahead of the April 9 polls.
Addressing a large gathering in Adoor in the sweltering heat, he thanked supporters for turning up in big numbers and framed the electoral battle as a direct contest between the UDF and a tacit Left–BJP combine.
“On one side is the UDF, and on the other is a combination of the Left and the BJP,” he said, invoking the idea of a “hidden hand” to argue that the BJP does not see the Left as a real challenger at the national level.
He claimed that leaders who genuinely oppose the BJP face pressure and investigation, citing cases against himself, while alleging that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the Left leadership do not face similar intensity of scrutiny.
The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha further accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of maintaining silence on contentious issues in Kerala, including Sabarimala, to avoid politically damaging the CPI(M).
In a scathing attack, he alleged that the Left government in Kerala no longer reflected true Left ideology and had instead adopted “corporate-friendly” policies similar to the BJP.
He pointed to the plight of rubber farmers, claiming the sector had been neglected, and criticised both the Centre and the state for failing to protect workers and small producers.
Positioning the UDF as a pro-people alternative, Rahul Gandhi unveiled a set of key guarantees.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Modi said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was the sole “A-team” in the upcoming assembly polls in Kerala and launched a sharp attack against the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Opposition UDF.
(IANS)
