Kerala has had enough of the Left’s utopia -the BJP is the alternative the state is waiting for.

Kerala today is on the cusp of a big political change. Never before have we witnessed the kind of buzz in favour of ‘lotus’ in this state.

This enthusiasm for the BJP in itself is an indication that the people are fed up with the two fronts that have ruled the state so far, and are looking for an alternative. It is early to predict how many seats the NDA will win as a consequence of this mild tremor. But one thing is certain, politics in Kerala will never be the same again.

That the BJP has positioned itself as a viable choice, that there are predictions of a hung assembly because of BJP presence and that all calculations of the LDF and UDF have gone hay wire prove how well en trenched the BJP has be come in the mass psyche. What are the issues that created this political churning? How different is the BJP from other parties? To call BJP a Hindu party or communal is an admission of the ideological bankruptcy of its opponents. Instead of coming up with a modern, largely accept able agenda, BJP’s enemies find solace in demonizing it. They resort to grand alliances to stop BJP and it is a clear confession that politics in India has become BJP centric. For almost five decades, Indian polity was uni-polar and multi-polar with Congress holding centre stage. The emergence of BJP has changed all this. The communists and Congress are in terminal crisis with both finding comfort in each other’s embrace as witnessed in West Bengal and in parliament. Still, to woo the Muslim vote from the Congress and to cover up the Bengal proclivity, Left leaders these days talk ad nauseam of a BJP-UDF secret understanding. Nobody believes this but it exposes CPM’s nervousness. This election is unique that for the first time in five decades there is a choice other than the UDF and LDF before the voters. The people here are showing tremendous curiosity towards the alternative the BJP has presented. Here, one factor is the immense popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The other and more solid point is the BJP track record. What has made credible activists like C K Janu or cricketer Sreesanth or superstar Suresh Gopi to root for the BJP? It only proves the party is becoming acceptable to sections beyond its traditional support base. For long it used to be said that Keralites will never accept the BJP. The BJP that was successful in winning seats in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Jammu and Kashmir and North-East is a pan-Indian party. But so far it has not been able to open its account in Kerala.

The good performance during the two years of Narendra Modi government has created huge goodwill. People have seen West Bengal after 35 years of communist rule. Congress rule in the state and the Centre is also before the people. Everything that the Modi government is attempting to do is a vocal articulation of the things Congress failed to do when in power. The states under the BJP rule today are in the forefront in economic development, agricultural growth, better connectivity, electrification and water supply. Narendra Modi turned drought-prone Saurashtra in Gujarat into a record agrarian growth trajectory. The BJP-Shiv Sena government in Maharashtra is assiduously imitating this model to transform the parched landscape of Marathwada. In Madhya Pradesh , the BJP was voted to power after 10 years of Congress rule in 2003. Then for three successive polls the voters did not give a second look at Congress. Be it Haryana or Jharkhand, this magic of development economics is working. This is a model empowering people to become masters of their destiny. Not making them dependent on freebies and doles. From a povertarian scarcity and regulation driven socialist paradigm, the BJP is driving the economy by unleashing the creative, entrepreneurial genius of the people. This has given birth to an aspirational class impatient for change and higher living standard.

The Left and the Right have alternatively ruined industry and agriculture in Kerala. Essentially they follow the same ideology. The BJP is fundamentally different. Can we revive agriculture here? Can we create a condition for investment? Thanks to Modi, many projects languishing for decades like Vizhinjam are being flagged off after the BJP assumed office in Delhi. Modi has shown how hands on a Prime Minister could be when he rushed medicine and relief in the firecracker tragedy in Paravur. Twenty-first century India cannot adopt the pace of action of the previous century. This is where the BJP differs from the rest.

For us India is one, the people are one. The BJP does not see voters in the compartments of caste, religion and vote bank. It has given more representation to youth and women. It has given the maximum number of chief ministers from poor, wretched and backward upbringing. The maximum number of tribals, scheduled caste and women MPs and MLAs are elected on BJP ticket. This is because of the colossal social engineering the BJP has successfully carried out in politics.

BJP is the answer Kerala is thirsting for.