PM Modi, Rahul to campaign in Kerala today

Thiruvananthapuram: The two biggest star campaigners of the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will campaign in Kerala today. Prime Minisrter Narendra Modi who arrived in Kochi on Sunday and stayed at the Ernakulam Government Guest House overnight, would take part in a roadshow and address a public meeting at Kunnamkulam in Alathur constituency. He will be soliciting votes for the BJP candidates of Palakkad, Thrissur, Alathur and Chalakudy at these election campaign events.

After Kunnamkulam, the prime minister is scheduled to leave for Kattakada in the Attingal constituency of Thiruvananthapuram district. Union minister V Muraleedharan is contesting from the Attingal constituency. Modi has been aggressively campaigning in Kerala since January. This is the seventh visit of the prime minister to Kerala since January. The BJP is hopeful of springing surprise in the coming elections especially in a couple of seats where the party believes that it would be able to break the LDF – UDF cycle. 

However, the opinion polls and pre-poll surveys have indicated an increase in the vote share but no clear chances of victory in any of the 20 constituencies.

Modi will be leaving for Tirunelveli in Tamilnadu to address a public meeting in favour of BJP candidate and party’s legislature party leader Nainar Nagendran. The prime minister’s visit comes close on the heels of the recovery of Rs 4 crore by the Election Commission's flying squad allegedly from the supporters of the BJP candidate who were travelling by train last week. Tamil Nadu will go to polls on April 19.

Rahul Gandhi to address series of meetings in Kerala today Rahul Gandhi will campaign extensively in



Wayayand and adjoining constituencies on Monday. The Congress leader who is scheduled to arrive in a helicopter at Nilgiris Arts and Science College in Wayanad, will be taking part in half a dozen election programmes in the district. He will take part in road shows in Sulthan Bathery, Mananthavady, Vellamunda and Paschimathara.

Rahul will address a farmer's meeting in Pulpally. He is scheduled to meet the Bishop of Mananthavady in the afternoon. The Congress star campaigner will address a public meeting organised by the UDF in Kozhikode in the evening. This is Rahul’s first campaign programme after filing nomination papers from the Wayanad constituency. The UDF is banking hugely on his campaign in Kerala. 

In 2019, Rahul wave swept Kerala with UDF winning 19 of the 20 seats in the state. While the Congress claims that the UDF will repeat its performance, the ruling LDF and BJP say the situation has changed drastically since the last Lok Sabha polls. The LDF has fielded political heavyweights in several constituencies to wrest the sitting seats of the UDF. Apart from Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan who is LDF’s main campaigner, national leaders of the CPM and CPI including Sitaram Yechury, D Raja and Brinda Karat are scheduled to campaign extensively for the Left candidates in the state in the coming days. The Left parties which got almost decimated in West Bengal and Tripura, are resting their hopes on Kerala to revive its prospects in the Lok Sabha. CPI’s stalwart Annie Raja is taking on Rahul Gandhi in Wayanad. BJP state president K Surendran is the BJP candidate from the constituency. Kerala which goes to polls on April 26, is witnessing triangular contests in certain seats.