Kerala Assembly elections: Rahul Gandhi says UDF fighting ‘combined force’ of BJP and LDF

Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, has said that the United Democratic Front (UDF) is fighting the “combined force” of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) in the forthcoming Kerala Assembly election.

Addressing an election campaign meeting of several UDF candidates in Fort Kochi on Saturday, Mr. Gandhi alleged that the partnership between the LDF, BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) was the “hidden hand” in this election. “They have money and power on their side, but the UDF has truth and its connection with the people,” he said.

“The biggest proof of this is the silence of the Prime Minister – who otherwise speaks about temple, god and religion wherever he goes – on the Sabarimala gold theft case in Kerala. That is because the Prime Minister wants the LDF to win. He knows that the LDF can never be a threat to the BJP and the RSS in the way the Congress and the UDF are,” Mr. Gandhi said.

He alleged that the BJP and RSS, who had “attacked” Keralite nurses in Chhattisgarh, were partners of the LDF in Kerala. “I am facing 36 cases, but why is the Central Bureau of Investigation, Enforcement Directorate and the Income Tax Department not targeting the Kerala Chief Minister and his children? LDF workers and genuine Left leaders here know that their Chief Minister is compromised because of corruption, just as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been compromised by Donald Trump due to the Epstein files,” he said.

“The Left no longer stands for ideological purity but for power. That is why they are partnering with the most vile political forces in the country. How shameful that your Chief Minister, after all his so-called training in the Left, is aligning with these forces. He needs to answer to the people of Kerala,” Mr. Gandhi said.

He further alleged that the Chief Minister was preoccupied with protecting his children. “The problem is why did he allow his children to do things that would require protection from the most right-wing forces in the country? He has sacrificed the interests of Kerala for his children. How can a person fully focused on protecting his children have a long-term vision for the State? Ultimately, the fishermen, farmers and common people of Kerala suffer because of this,” Mr. Gandhi said.