4 min readThiruvanananthapuramUpdated: Mar 30, 2026 04:33 AM IST
Assuring that the government was making every effort to ensure that the impact on India from the conflict in West Asia is minimised as far as possible, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said in Kerala that the Congress was trying to derive “political benefit” from it.
Speaking during a campaign event in Palakkad ahead of the April 9 Assembly election in Kerala, which has a significant number of families with relatives working in the Persian Gulf, Modi alleged that the Congress “seems to wish that around 1 crore Indians working in the Gulf face danger, so that they can derive political benefit from it”.
“A large number of people from Kerala are living in areas affected by the war. Since the onset of the conflict, I have been in constant touch with the heads of those countries. All nations are giving high priority to the safety of Indians. Our diplomatic missions are working around the clock to ensure that Indians do not face any difficulty. Safeguarding the interests of Indians is the top priority of the government,” he said.
He said the statements made by the Congress on this matter are “very dangerous”.
BJP has prioritised Palakkad for this election, as the party has been runners up in the constituency the last few times. On Sunday, Modi said, “Kerala is sending a message of change, which is reflected in the growing public support and the increasing trust people are placing on the BJP. The youth of Kerala are placing their trust in the BJP and the NDA. The women of Kerala are showing their affection towards the BJP and the NDA.”
Modi said Kerala has long been trapped in the “deception politics” of LDF and UDF — the ruling alliance led by the CPI(M) and the Opposition alliance led by the Congress, respectively — which he claimed were similar and merely wear different masks.
“One claims to oppose communalism, the other claims to uphold secularism. One calls the other communal, while the other calls them extremely communal. In reality, the policies of both the LDF and the UDF are driven only by vote-bank politics. They have no real concern for the development of Kerala,” the PM said.
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He said the NDA would form a government in Kerala and “make development possible”.
“This is Modi’s guarantee. What has not changed so far will change, and Kerala will move forward on the path of development,” Modi said.
Referring to the “deal with BJP” controversy raised by both Congress and CPI(M), Modi pointed out that while the Communists call the Congress the B-team of the BJP, the Congress says the same about the Communists. “But in saying this, both have admitted one thing that if there is an A team in this election — it will be the BJP, only the BJP.”
Referring to the INDIA bloc — the national-level Opposition alliance in which both the Congress and the CPI(M) are partners — Modi said both parties were only pretending to be rivals in Kerala and engaging in “political theatrics”.
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“You must recognise and understand the true nature of both parties,” he said.
Modi also took a dig at the Congress over the sexual misconduct scandal that has led to the ouster of its Palakkad MLA Rahul Mamkootathil. “Incidents that undermine women’s safety are known to all of you. Even recently, another Congress leader had to be expelled from the party for harassing women. All these reflect their true nature. What I want to say to the women of Kerala is this: you must be cautious of them,” he said.
Later, Modi took out a road show in Thrissur along with Union minister Suresh Gopi and BJP candidate for the Assembly seat, Padmaja Venugopal.
