Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said that the BJP’s aim was to form a government in Kerala one day and have a party member become the Chief Minister.
Addressing newly elected local body representatives in Thiruvananthapuram, Shah said that the party was committed to developing the state and combating what he described as “anti-national forces”, a task he claimed only the BJP could accomplish.
Referring to the BJP-led NDA’s victory in the Thiruvananthapuram local body elections, the Home Minister termed it a historic achievement and a stepping stone towards the party’s larger political ambitions in the state.
“This victory is not our goal, but a stepping stone towards achieving our goal. Our ultimate goal is to form a government in Kerala under the lotus symbol and bring a BJP CM. Our goal is to make Kerala fully developed and to protect Kerala from anti-national forces; to protect the power of faith that has existed in Kerala for centuries,” Shah said.
The NDA’s win in the Thiruvananthapuram corporation was widely seen as a major setback for the ruling CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF), ending its uninterrupted 45-year rule in the civic body.
Citing the result, Shah said Kerala’s development, security and protection of beliefs could be ensured only under the NDA.
Apart from Thiruvananthapuram, the BJP also retained Palakkad and wrested Thrippunithura from the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) in the local body polls.
Taking aim at both the LDF and the UDF, Shah alleged that “The match-fixing between the LDF and UDF has stalled this state with its immense potential and our Kerala is experiencing a strange kind of stagnation.”
He further said that the influence of Communist parties was declining globally and that the Congress, too, was fading across the country.
The local body elections marked a significant rise for the BJP in Kerala. The party won 50 wards in the Thiruvananthapuram corporation, falling just one short of an absolute majority, while restricting the LDF to 29 wards.
Shah also accused the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in Kerala of shielding those responsible for the alleged loss of gold at the Sabarimala temple. He demanded that the case be handed over to an independent and neutral investigation agency.
He alleged that the FIR in the case appeared to have been drafted in a manner that favoured the accused. He claimed that two individuals linked to the LDF were under suspicion.