State government did not know about it even when top railway officials attended crucial meeting; Vande Bharat was brought to Kerala through BJP's secret strategy

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The BJP, which is now exhibiting its development strategy through the Vande Bharat train, is aiming to make huge gains in the state in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The party had earlier engaged in Easter politics targetting religious minorities.

The BJP, which was cautious not to give even an iota of credit to the state government for the Vande Bharat train, is hoping to increase its political influence in Kerala.

The senior officials of the railway division got the information about the Vande Bharat train just three days ago. Only a few BJP leaders, including Union Minister of State V Muraleedharan, were aware of this.

Neither the office of Minister V Abdurahiman, who is in charge of railways in Kerala, nor the state government had received any notification regarding the Vande Bharat train. The minister's office said that it came to know about it only through the media and that it had not received any official notification from the Centre.

Railway had started preparations for it months before. However, the Kerala government did not know about this. The state minister's office was not informed about the arrival of the Railway General Manager in Kerala regarding the renovation of the stations.

The Railway Divisional Manager participated in the online meeting held by the Public Administration Department in connection with the arrival of the Prime Minister in Kerala. The state government was not aware of the matter even then.

Two weeks ago, the Chief Minister had written to the Prime Minister demanding a Vande Bharat train for Kerala. It must be noted that the Centre had not said hinted about allotting Vande Bharat for Kerala in its replies in the parliament.

LDF considers Vande Bharat as a political move to eliminate the SilverLine project. The controversial SilverLine project envisioned by the state government has a speed of 200 km per hour. Vande Bharat, which will run at a speed of 100 kmph in the first phase, is expected to run at 160 kmph after the facilities are upgraded.

The BJP, which implemented Vande Bharat without evicting anyone, is believing that it has succeeded in neutralizing the ruling and opposition parties in Kerala.