The epicentre of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s campaign in South India will likely shift to Kerala as Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in Kochi late on April 14 for a two-day electioneering tour of the State.
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On April 15, Mr. Modi will campaign in the Alathur Lok Sabha constituency for retired college principal T.N. Sarasu at a public rally at Cheruvathoor.
Ms. Sarasu came under the BJP’s scanner after the SFI gave her a mock funeral on campus when she retired as principal of the Government Victoria College in Palakkad in 2016.
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Later in the day, Mr. Modi will fly to Thiruvananthapuram, where he will campaign for the BJP’s high-profile candidates Rajiv Chandrasekhar (Thiruvananthapuram) and V. Muraleedharan (Attingal) at a public meeting in Kattakada.
Mr. Modi is fresh from unveiling the NDA’s election manifesto in New Delhi. He might spotlight the BJP’s manifesto commitments, including free rations and power, expanded health and women empowerment schemes for the poor.
In his past visits to Kerala, Mr. Modi often addressed supporters in the third person, punctuating his speeches with the BJP’s campaign refrain, “Modi’s guarantee”.
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He also promised to end the “LDF-UDF revolving door politics” in Kerala, and brand both alliances as INDIA bloc allies masquerading as imaginary foes to hoodwink Kerala’s electorate.
Mr. Modi’s visit coincides with a raging social debate over the decision of a section of the church to screen the allegedly Islamophobic movie, The Kerala Story, as a cautionary tale for catechism students to prevent them from falling into “love traps set by Islamists to convert impressionable Christian youth to the jihadist cause”.
The move had drawn flak from within the church. It unnerved the Congress, which has a sizeable support base among Christians in central and north Kerala. The move has also irked the party’s key ally, the IUML.
At the same time, the BJP perceived its overtures to the church, including a Christmas lunch hosted for the top clergy by Mr. Modi in New Delhi in 2023, as somewhat borne fruit.
Also read | BJP welcomes screening of The Kerala Story by diocese; UDF, LDF oppose decision
In a duelling political rally, Rahul Gandhi will arrive in Kozhikode on April 15. He will campaign in his constituency, Wayanad. Congress campaign managers said Mr. Gandhi will return to Kerala to attend election conventions in Kannur, Palakkad, Kottayam, Thrissur, Alappuzha and Thiruvananthapuram after April 18.