THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The BJP-led NDA has pinned hopes on reaping rich dividends in Monday’s Assembly polls even as the curtain came down on the two month-long vocal election campaign on Saturday.
With the BJP central leadership backing the state unit to the hilt, the NDA, for the first time, is approaching the voters with the facade of a formidable alliance bolstered by the entry of the SNDP-sponsored BDJS.
The NDA’s prize catch, though, was tribal leader C K Janu. With the Janadhipathya Rashtriya Sabha (JRS) floated by her joining the BJP bandwagon, the very texture of the NDA mosaic has been changed by giving it a real face-lift.
More over, no impartial observer can anymore argue that the NDA or the BJP is a formulation of caste Hindus as it has started receiving groundswell of support from the downtrodden tribal communities, Dalits and backward communities like Ezhavas and Ganakas. Thushar Vellapally,T V Babu, Janu and others have changed the tone and tenor of the NDA voice .
But in the evolving scenario, it is sure that the BDJS will turn out to be the dark horse which help the NDA to take centre stage.
“The NDA is going to emerge as a force to reckon with in several constituencies, with more than a dozen of its candidates helping it to have multiple seats in the Assembly,” Sangh Parivar strategists, overseeing the saffron campaign here, said on condition of anonymity.
Impressive Roadshows
The capital city on Saturday witnessed impressive roadshows by HRD Minister Smriti Irani and Suresh Gopi MP, who jointly campaigned for Sreesanth and Kummanam Rajasekharan in the Thiruvananthapuram and Vattiyoorkkavu seat respectively.
While Irani promised steps to ensure Thiruvananthapuram’s overall development, Suresh Gopi urged voters to oust the Oommen Chandy Government. And the duo drew a sizeable crowd during the roadshows in the city.