Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 11 (NationPress) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday encouraged BJP supporters in Kerala to aspire for the installation of the party's inaugural Chief Minister in the state, maintaining an optimistic tone in Thiruvananthapuram, even as the BJP fell significantly short of the electoral goals he had established ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.

Speaking to newly elected BJP and NDA representatives at a convention center in Kowdiar, Shah aimed to motivate party members despite the results of the 2025 local body elections revealing the challenging path ahead for the party.

During his earlier visit to Kerala on July 12, 2025, Shah had emphasized that the route to the Secretariat in 2026 would go through the local body polls, setting a target of achieving at least 25 percent of the vote share.

The BJP, however, concluded the local elections with 14.80 percent, falling far below the target, with its most notable achievement being the mayoral position in Thiruvananthapuram.

Transforming that solitary achievement into a significant moment, Shah mentioned his visit earlier in the day to the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple.

He recalled having vowed to offer prayers there if the BJP secured the mayor’s position in the state capital.

“I am coming here straight after paying my respects to the Lord,” he stated, eliciting enthusiastic applause from party workers.

Insisting that the mayor’s position was merely the beginning, Shah reaffirmed the BJP’s broader aspiration.

“We have a long journey ahead, and it will culminate only when Kerala has a BJP Chief Minister,” he stated, emphasizing that the party’s focus is firmly on 2026.

To bolster morale, Shah pointed out the BJP’s increasing vote share in the Lok Sabha elections within the state.

“In 2014, we had 11 percent. In 2019, it rose to 16 percent. In 2024, it reached 20 percent,” he said, attributing this trend to the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In the 2021 Assembly polls, the NDA’s vote share decreased to 12.41 percent, highlighting the difficulties in converting parliamentary successes into Assembly victories.

Nevertheless, Amit Shah projected an ambitious trajectory. “Now we will progress from 20 to 30 and then from 30 to 40 - all in 2026 itself,” he said, dismissing skepticism by referencing the BJP’s past expansions in states like Assam and Uttar Pradesh, where the party grew from marginal influence to durable power.

Shah’s speech was accentuated by the slogan “Ab baari Kerala ki hai” (Now it is Kerala’s turn), which received an enthusiastic response from party cadres.

He stated that the BJP’s quest for power in Kerala would depend on three pillars - development, security, and protection of faith. He argued that Kerala’s reliance on remittances from non-resident Keralites indicated a lack of development, criticized both the LDF and UDF for not taking strong stands against extremist organizations, and claimed that successive governments had failed to safeguard religious institutions and assets.

Launching a sharp critique against the ruling Left and Congress, Shah noted that communism has diminished globally and that Congress is steadily disappearing from India.

He also directed a pointed question at Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, inquiring about the actions the state government had undertaken to reclaim land allegedly belonging to Christian and Hindu families from the Wakf Board.

Mentioning the abolition of triple talaq, Shah accused both major political fronts of resisting reforms that he argued ensured justice for Muslim women.

“Appeasement of one is injustice to another. The BJP stands for justice to all and appeasement of none,” he asserted.

While Shah’s address invigorated party workers and reinforced the BJP’s ambition to secure the Chief Minister’s position in Kerala, the outcomes from the local body elections underscore the magnitude of the task ahead as the state approaches the 2026 Assembly polls.