Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday said the Bharatiya Janata Party’s poor performance in the Vengara Assembly bye-poll was a warning to the party to not “mess with Kerala”, PTI reported.
The BJP ended up in the fourth spot after the Indian Union Muslim League won the bye-election, indicating that it was still not a force to reckon with in South India.
“Despite dirty tricks and attempts for communal polarisation, the Bharatiya Janata Party has been relegated to the fourth position with a much-reduced vote share,” Vijayan was quoted as saying at a seminar in New Delhi on “Democracy in Danger”. “This is a pointer and strong warning to the BJP that they cannot mess with Kerala.”
Vijayan said that although the BJP’s Jan Raksha Yatra was routed through the Vengara constituency, the results were negligible as the people of Kerala had spoken against the party by not voting for it.
The chief minister also accused the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh of attempting to tarnish the state’s image and tourism industry with a malicious campaign. “A ‘boycott Kerala’ campaign is being run with the call to bring tourism in Kerala to its knees,” Vijayan said. “People of other states are asked not to come to Kerala to bring our tourism industry to a standstill.”
A spate of violent attacks have been reported between the Sangh and the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist). There have been several political murders in Kerala since the Left Democratic Front government came to power in May 2016, with victims on both sides. The RSS and CPI(M) have blamed each other for the bloodshed.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!