Modi Leads BJP's Southern Push Ahead of Lok Sabha Polls

Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spearheaded the party's ambitious southern campaign on Tuesday, claiming the BJP will win "double-digit" seats in Kerala and that neighboring Tamil Nadu would "create history in 2024."

On a two-day official and political visit to the two southern states, Modi spoke at the first party event in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala, before taking a plane to Tirupur, Tamil Nadu, for the second rally.

In order to support Modi's resolute effort to capture Lok Sabha seats from regions that had not been friendly to the saffron party, the BJP has embarked on yatras in both states. Modi has already visited the southern states three times this year. He is scheduled to speak at a second rally in Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, on Wednesday.

Kerala delivered the BJP a two-digit vote percentage in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. At the Thiruvananthapuram event, Modi said, "This time, the party will win double-digit seats from Kerala." He accused the opposition United Democratic Front and the government Left Democratic Front of being "each other's enemies in the state," but that they were "best friends forever" outside of Kerala.

Unlike in Kerala, Modi did not declare that he would win Lok Sabha seats in Tirupur, Tamil Nadu, but instead he worked to intensify the party's efforts to establish itself and expand across the state. He claimed that the gathering at the event resembled a "saffron sea" and stated, "The people who sit in air-conditioned rooms in Delhi and try to divide the country need to come here and see that Tamil Nadu is shaping the destiny of India."

"Tamil Nadu will emerge as the newest, most active hub for development politics in 2024. Tamil Nadu would make history in 2024, he said, asserting that he had a "dil ka rishta" with the state. The purpose of the event was to commemorate the end of state party chairman K. Annamalai's "En Man, En Makkal" (My soil, my people) yatra.

Modi attempted to court the AIADMK's supporters after the party severed its ties to the BJP. He praised the late Jayalalithaa as a great leader who was committed to the philosophy of Dravidian icon MGR (former chief minister M.G. Ramachandran) and chastised the ruling DMK for "deviating" from the path and engaging in dynastic politics.

"MGR was an excellent leader. He established the tradition of excellent government, defying the dynasty's customs. Sadly, the manner the DMK has been operating in Tamil Nadu lately is demeaning to MGR," he said. He went on, saying, "J. Jayalalithaa devoted her life to the ideology of MGR" and emphasized how fortunate he was to have collaborated with the late leader.

In an attempt to build rapport with the populace, Modi used both rallies to criticize the governing parties in the two states for dynasty politics and corruption. He also made an effort to blend in with the local language and culture. He said that the DMK in Tamil Nadu was plundering the state, while the governing Left in Kerala was adopting the Congress' "one family rule model."

Tamil Nadu has always been at the core of the BJP, despite the party not holding political power there. "This is something that all my Tamil brothers and sisters know and comprehend," he said, calling the gathering "a massive one."

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