As electioneering ends for 140 seats of Kerala on April 4 evening the ruling Left Democratic Front has started feeling somewhat uneasy after the recent campaigning by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the likely rise in share of BJP votes.
Kerala-watchers are of the view that though the BJP is not going to come to power in the state it certainly has the capability to increase its vote-share this time. The party is going to poll with Metro Man, E Sreedharan as chief ministerial face.
It has been observed both in West Bengal and Tripura that the Left votes had shifted to the BJP, though in both these states the Communists had been in power for quite a long time.
As the Left Democratic Front is in power in Kerala the BJP is in a better position to exploit the anti-incumbency factor. The Prime Minister in his speeches raised the issue of corruption and gold scam to target the state chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who was till a few weeks back much more confident. The LDF was hoping to break the five decades old practice of alternative government coming to power.
Thus, the cut in LDF votes would improve the prospect of the Congress-led United Democratic Front.
In the Lok Sabha election of 2019, the Congress won 19 out of 20 seats. Though Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi had to cancel her proposed visit of Kerala and go for isolation after her husband Robert Vadra had tested corona positive, her brother Rahul Gandhi campaigned extensively in the state. He is also the MP from Wayanad.
