Thiruvananthapuram: PM Modi launched his party’s Kerala campaign by harping on the sensitive issue of the Hindus – Sabarimala, often called the Ayodhya of the south for its controversies. At Kozhikode on Friday night, he did not refer Sabarimala or invoke Lord Ayyappa by name as the Chief Electoral Officer Teeka Ram Meena had imposed a ban on using Lord Ayyappa or Sabarimala to solicit votes. But Modi today hopped across the border to Ramanathapuram in Tamil Nadu and Mangaluru in Karnataka where he openly took the name of Ayyappa and Sabarimala saying the Kerala government had imposed a ban on Hindu gods.
In Kerala, Modi said “If the UDF and LDF think they can destroy our tradition, they are mistaken. BJP stands with Kerala, BJP stands with Kerala’s faith.” And in today’s context, Kerala’s faith is Ayyappa. Modi’s speech across the border and in Kozhikode was enough fodder to boost BJP’s spirits in Kerala. But it may not whip up a tsunami that will translate into votes and victory.
Kerala, the God’s Own Country, has never sent a BJP lawmaker to LS. Though it hopes Lord Ayyappa would help in bagging 10 seats this time, the reality is that a ‘God wave’ is likely to help the BJP open its account only from one to three constituencies— Pathanamthitta, the district has the famous hill shrine of the warrior Lord Ayyappa, for sure. The other two seats where the BJP is on a strong footing are Thiruvananthapuram where former governor of Mizoram Kummanam Rajasekharan is the candidate, and Thrissur in central Kerala where popular actor Suresh Gopi is leading a strong BJP surge.