3 min readNedumangadu, ParavurApr 2, 2026 05:55 AM IST
First published on: Apr 2, 2026 at 05:55 AM IST
Mounting a strident attack on Kerala’s ruling LDF and the Congress-led Opposition UDF, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh alleged that both the Fronts are similar in character, together destroying the state’s economy and have become synonymous with corruption.
“It’s so unfortunate that the people in Kerala vote to expel one of them every five years, but the other one comes to power… while LDF stands for Loot, Divisive, Failure, the UDF means Untrustworthy, Dishonesty, Fraud… the Front in both stands for a friend of corruption,” Singh said, addressing an election rally in Paravur in Ernakulam district.
Paravur is one of the 98 constituencies where the BJP has fielded its candidates for elections to the 140-member Kerala Assembly.
Responding to Congress’s charge of “tacit understanding” between the BJP and the CPI(M) to defeat the UDF, Singh said, “In God’s own country, even God is not safe”, taking a dig at the LDF government over the Sabarimala gold scam case — the theft and misappropriation of gold from idols and door frames at the Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa shrine. “In God’s own country, even God is not safe. Like Judas, (one of the 12 disciples of Jesus Christ) betrayed Jesus, the LDF government has betrayed Lord Ayyappa for some gold… in this state, where UDF and LDF are the same, neither God nor the people are safe.”
In Kerala, where politics has been intensely bipolar, the BJP is banking on the popularity of central schemes and hopes for a consolidation of anti-Left and anti-Congress votes. In its manifesto released earlier this week, the BJP has promised a Rs 3,000 monthly pension for women heads of poor households and other vulnerable groups, a Rs 2,500 monthly grocery, healthcare recharge, and an AIIMS for Kerala. It also vowed a time-bound CBI probe into the Sabarimala gold theft case.
Targeting the CPI(M)-led LDF government, Singh referred to the controversial gold smuggling scam in 2020 and accused Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s family of being involved. Hitting out at the UDF, he listed alleged scams during its tenure, including the solar scam charge. “Both are in competition when it comes to looting the state,” he alleged and slammed the CPI(M) for doing, what he called, “politics of violence” in the state.