With just 10 days remaining, fierce election battle engulfs Kerala

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With 10 days left for polling, Kerala is engulfed in a fierce battle, with leaders now unleashing the last weapon in their arsenal—personal vilification. This is a final bid attempt to demoralize the opposition candidates and gain advantage over this fall.

On Monday, PM Modi visited Kerala for the record ninth time this year; only to bolster the party’s hitherto unsuccessful mission of wresting control of the south. PM Modi in a rally conducted on Monday, made some no-holds-barred attacks on CM Pinarayi Vijayan and his daughter. In a retort, CM Pinarayi said the BJP would not even finish second in any of the seats in Kerala.

On the other hand, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the ideology of RSS has no value in Kerala and alleged Modi’s attempt to humiliate Kerala and the Malayalam language. Rahul also put light on the purported bonhomie existing between CPM and BJP which he said was the reason behind the central government not moving against CM Pinarayi Vijayan.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan stated that the party's election campaign will not be ruined because the ED has frozen the account of the CPM in Thrissur district, and retorted that none of the BJP candidates in Kerala, including Suresh Gopi, will even come second in Thrissur.

In a repartee, PM Modi promised to return all the lost money in the Karuvannur scam to depositors if elected to power in Kerala. CM Pinaryai Vijayan’s election tour will continue for another week, with three meetings each in one parliamentary constituency a day.