NDA in Kerala expresses confidence of strong showing in LS polls

Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 27 (IANS) Following talks between various constituent parties here on Wednesday, the leadership of the NDA in Kerala expressed confidence that there will be positive vibes in the state for them at the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. 

"The talks have been successfully completed and the details will be passed on to the national BJP leadership. The traditional political rivals in Kerala - the CPI-M-led ruling Left and the Congress-led UDF have weakened and there is a strong wind in favour of the BJP-led NDA," said NDA's Kerala Vice Chairman P.K. Krishnadas, a former state BJP President and a probable candidate.

He claimed that a secret pact has been worked out between the CPI-M and the IUML (the second-largest party in the UDF) where the CPI-M will vote for the IUML candidates in Ponnani and Malappuram and in return, the IUML will vote for the CPI-M candidates.

Even though the state BJP leadership and the national leadership is hopeful that this time the BJP will open its account in Kerala, figures do not augur well for it. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the NDA finished a distant third, managing only a 15.64 per cent vote share.

Except at the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat, where their candidate was the runner-up, in all the other seats, it finished a distant third. While the UDF won 19 seats securing a vote share of 47.48 per cent, the CPI-M led Left Front got 36.29 per cent votes and one seat. The BJP failed to make a mark in the 2021 Assembly polls too with its vote share going down to 12.36 per cent as compared to the 2016 Assembly polls and the party lost the only seat it held.

--IANS

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