K Muraleedharan Claims BJP 'Irrelevant' in Kerala Ahead of Assembly Polls

Congress leader K Muraleedharan asserts the BJP's diminishing relevance in Kerala's upcoming Assembly elections, citing unfulfilled promises and questioning their impact on the state's development.

Congress leader K Muraleedharan, contesting from Vattiyoorkavu for April 9 Assembly polls, said the BJP has become "irrelevant" in Kerala, alleging that the party has failed to fulfil its promises in the state.

Responding to reporters on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Palakkad for an election rally, Muraleedharan said people in Kerala do not take the BJP at face value.

"The BJP claims that what is unchanged here will change. An MP from the party was elected and even inducted into the Union Cabinet. Has a Metro rail come to Thrissur? Why has the long-pending demand for an AIIMS not been granted," he asked.

He said that during his tenure as MP, he had twice raised the demand for an AIIMS in Parliament, and the Centre had replied that the proposal was under the consideration of the Finance Department.

Muraleedharan also alleged that the BJP had promised that if it won the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, the Prime Minister would visit the city and announce a special package.

"He visited, but no package was announced. So, the BJP's previous victory has not yielded any benefit for Kerala," he said.

He further claimed that, barring a few constituencies, the electoral contest in Kerala remains primarily between the UDF and the LDF.

"Therefore, the BJP has no relevance in this election. I don't think people here will take the Prime Minister's statements at face value," he added.

Allegations of CPI(M)-SDPI Understanding

On allegations of a CPI(M)-SDPI understanding, Muraleedharan said that when the SDPI had extended support to the UDF in the previous Lok Sabha elections, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had strongly criticised it.

"Now, CPI(M) leader E P Jayarajan says the party will accept votes from all organisations. Recently, the SDPI said it had supported V Sivankutty in Nemom earlier and would do so again," he claimed.

He accused the CPI(M) of adopting double standards, saying that when the SDPI supported the UDF, it was termed "communal", but when backing the LDF, it was seen as "secular".

"This will not work in Kerala," he said.

Campaign Finance Dispute

Muraleedharan also denied allegations that people are being hired for his campaign at Rs 500 per day, calling it a "fake narrative" by the CPI(M).

He alleged that LDF candidate V K Prasanth was behind the claims and said he had lodged complaints with the Election Commission and the police.

Responding to allegations made by Muraleedharan, sitting MLA Prasanth said the Congress' struggle in conducting its election campaign were evident from such statements.

"It is true that the Congress is finding it hard to mobilise people for its campaign. But they are shifting the blame onto the LDF candidate. It is also true that people from outside the constituency are engaged in their campaign work," he said.

Prasanth said Muraleedharan, despite being an experienced politician, has been making repeated allegations against him.

"In fact, in Vattiyoorkavu, the BJP is in the second position. UDF workers are nowhere to be seen," he claimed.

He added that the LDF does not need to resort to personal attacks against any candidate.

He also denied the CPI(M)-BJP deal, saying that such an allegation was never raised when he won the bypoll in 2019 and the 2021 assembly election.