Kerala BJP wants Pinarayi Vijayan to stop 'false propaganda' against Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The BJP in Kerala on Thursday urged Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the ruling CPI(M) to stop "false propaganda" unleashed by them against UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at least now in the wake of the saffron party's "historic win" in the assembly election in the northern state.

Addressing reporters here, party's state chief K Surendran said, "the BJP's win is also a setback to the vicious campaign unleashed by Vijayan against Adityanath. The people of UP have thrown Vijayan's demand to follow the Kerala model into the dustbin."

Noting that the defeat of the Congress party in all the five states would accelerate their decline in Kerala also, he said the grand old party was being 'wiped out' from the country.

A jubilant leader also said the election results were a testament to the growing confidence of people in Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The BJP's victory in Manipur and Goa would have an impact on Kerala as well, Surendran said adding that the present electoral victory would have its reflection in the states where religious minorities have an influential role.

Meanwhile, senior CPI(M) leader and General Education Minister V Sivankutty criticised the Congress for its poll debacle in the five states, saying it has turned into a party which never learns lessons from setbacks.

Corruption, nepotism and infighting would make the grand-old party a burden for the people of the country, he alleged.

Responding to the criticism from all sides over the party's defeat in five states, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president and MP K Sudhakaran said the elections' results were a reflection of the the local political sentiments.

He said the election results of the five states indicated the extent to which communal polarisation dominates democracy and called it a 'dangerous trend'.

In a democracy, victories and defeats are natural, he added.

Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly V D Satheesan, meanwhile, said the Congress party admits the failure and would try to learn lessons from the defeat.

The BJP headed for a second straight win in politically crucial Uttar Pradesh and dominated the trends chart in three other states while the Aam Aadmi Party is moving towards a landslide win in Punjab, the two parties imprinting Elections 2022 with their triumph.

As votes were counted for elections to five states held over February and March, India's ruling party could end the day with a four-one score.