The ‘genie’ is well and truly out in the ‘battle’ and haunting the electoral scheme of things in Kerala with outgoing Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan seeking to pay back the Congress-led Opposition front in its own coin by deflecting the charge of a ‘secret deal’ with the BJP-NDA in several seats in the state.

It is not the first time that the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) which have ruled the state by turn every five years have traded this charge against each other, but this year it has been blown out of proportion for a different but potent reason.

RSS ideologue’s charge

And this has to do with the outburst by RSS ideologue R Balashankar who turned a smoking gun against his own BJP-NDA front in so far as he surmised that he was denied a seat in Chengannur to accommodate the CPI(M) request in return for ensuring the State BJP President’s victory from neighbouring Konni.

This had triggered a major controversy in the state which the State BJP president K Surendran dismissed outright and Union Minister Prakash Javadekar, while addressing newspersons here on Wednesday, dubbed as a knee-jerk reaction from Balashankar who ‘remains a dedicated Sangh Parivar lieutenant.’

But it was enough to spark off a slugfest on ground between the two rival fronts with the BJP-NDA i the centre, and has refused to die down so much so the Chief Minister found too tempting not to hold himself back from. He made a mention of it latest on Thursday morning while speaking in Kollam on Thursday morning.

Rejection of papers in three seats

Pinarayi Vijayan went to the extent of saying that this ‘deal’ was at play in three constituencies in the state where the nomination papers of the BJP-NDA have been rejected and is corroborated by the Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala admitting that he would not reject any BJP vote coming his way.

“We in the LDF are an open when it comes to contesting in the elections. We do not seek nor want votes from communalist forces. Nor do we have any pact on understanding with them to gain a few votes here and there. We don’t stoop down to that level merely to win elections,” he said.

‘Divisive agenda’ on show

The BJP-NDA has come out with a divisive agenda here as well as in the other states which are going to polls this year. The party National President himself has said that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act will be implemented in Assam. Its manifesto in West Bengal says that CAA will be implemented on priority.

The Kerala Chief Minister said that the State government has taken a decision long back against CAA asserting its vehement opposition to it and reiterating that it will not be implemented in the state. “Why is the Congress not being able to take such a decision in the few states ruled by it,” he asked.

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