KONNI: The BJP has matured into a third alternative in Kerala and the political atmosphere is favourable for the party to play a bigger role in the politics here, said BJP state president K Surendran. The people of Kerala are fed up with the LDF and UDF and they are now looking up to the NDA as an alternative. In an interview to TNIE during his busy campaign schedule in Konni on Sunday, Surendran expressed confidence that the NDA would win 40 seats in the election. Excerpts:
What are the NDA’s prospects in this election?
The people of Kerala are fed up with the LDF and the UDF which are responsible for the sorry state of affairs in the state. Now, people are looking up to the NDA as a third alternative and we have matured into one. Our vote share has steadily grown over the past few years and now there is a welcome change in the approach of the minorities, which will work in our favour. Most of the constituencies are witnessing a fierce three-cornered fight and we are confident of winning at least 40 seats.
What kind of alternative is the BJP offering?
The UDF and the LDF are talking about food kits and social security pension. But is that a good development model? They don’t have a vision for the future development of the state. If voted to power, the NDA will ensure financial stability of the state. We have a vision that includes an industrial revolution in the state giving stress to job creation. Apart from industrialisation, we will strive for revival of agriculture and traditional industries that form the backbone of the state. We will address social issues and there will be schemes for the uplift of the marginalised sections of society.
But where is the space for a third alternative in Kerala?
It is the people’s yearning for a viable third alternative which is working in our favour. The UDF has no mettle to fight (Chief Minister) Pinarayi Vijayan on his home turf. They couldn’t field a strong candidate against him in Dharmadom. The BJP is the only party that can counter the CPM effectively.
The BJP improved its vote share during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls riding on the Sabarimala sentiments. But do you think it is still relevant as the minister has expressed regret and the Chief Minister has promised that any future move will be made only after discussions with all stakeholders?
The Sabarimala sentiments still simmer in the minds of the devotees. It is not irrelevant. The devotees will never forget the incidents that happened in Sabarimala. Besides Chief Minister Pinarayi, CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury and CPI state secretary Kanam Rajendran have dismissed the minister’s regret and said there is no change in their attitude. They are against the devotees.
The BJP has always faced allegations of vote sale and adjustments. The allegations raised by RSS ideologue R Balashankar has opened a Pandora’s box. Has it not tarnished the image of the party and affected its credibility?
The allegations raised by Balashankar are an emotional outburst and the people will not believe them. The BJP has been fighting the CPM for years. Who will believe the allegation of an adjustment with our bete noire? Konni is CPM’s sitting seat and the BJP is giving it a tough fight there.
The rejection of the nomination papers of three candidates in constituencies where the party has a sizeable vote share has given credibility to the allegation and both LDF and UDF have alleged backstage adjustments.
The nominations were rejected on technical grounds and we have approached the High Court against it. Normally, returning officers don’t reject nomination papers on such flimsy reasons. In Thalassery and Guruvayur, nobody had objected to the flaws. As the information furnished was not false, the Election Commission could have given us a notice to rectify it. The allegations of backstage adjustments don’t hold water.
The LDF and UDF have been targeting the BJP for the spiralling fuel prices which have put the common man in hardship. How do you plan to counter it?
The BJP had favoured bringing the petroleum products under GST regime but the Kerala government was not in favour of it. It was the previous UPA government that gave the right to oil companies to decide on the prices of petrol freely. Let (Finance Minister) T M Thomas Isaac reveal his opinion on bringing petroleum products under GST.
You have been shuttling between Konni and Manjeshwar for campaigning. What was the need for the party state president to contest from two seats? You are tied up in these two two constituencies. Has it not affected the coordination of NDA campaign?
It is the party’s decision and I am managing the situation by spending two days in each constituency alternately. The central leadership has made arrangements for coordination of the campaign. Besides, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister Aswath Narayan and BJP Kerala prabhari C P Radhakrishnan have shouldered the responsibility.
What are your prospects in Konni and Manjeshwar?
In Konni, there have been some new developments. Some traditional voters of the UDF and LDF have shifted to the BJP and there is a change in the attitude of the minorities which will work in our favour. In Manjeshwar, there is a feeling among the voters that I was defeated through deceit in 2016. They will vote against the forces that did injustice to me.
The BJP state leadership is often characterised as a tough big brother who never cares to keep the allies in good humour. The BDJS has been complaining and the Kerala Congress P C Thomas faction left the alliance as they were not given a single seat to contest.
The NDA is totally different from the UDF and LDF and we always respect allies who have a support base.The complaints of the BDJS will be addressed after the assembly polls. The allegations of P C Thomas faction are not correct. We had offered Pala seat to P C Thomas but he was reluctant to contest against Jose K Mani. His migration to UDF will not have any impact on us.