The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday, 3 June launched a sharp attack on Kerala's UDF government policy address, calling it a document crafted to mislead voters and accusing the Congress-led coalition of staying silent on corruption allegations and the Sabarimala gold theft controversy. The salvo, fired from the state BJP headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram, marks the party's first major Assembly-era offensive after winning three seats in the recent polls.

Key allegations against the policy address

Addressing reporters, BJP MLAs Rajeev Chandrasekhar, V. Muraleedharan and B.B. Gopakumar argued that the policy address failed to lay out a credible roadmap for Kerala's development or financial recovery. They alleged the state government was attempting to deflect blame for the state's economic stress entirely onto the Centre while masking its own administrative failures.

What the BJP leaders said

Former Union Minister V. Muraleedharan said the previous LDF government had repeatedly blamed the Centre to cover up shortcomings, and that the UDF had failed to effectively counter those claims. ‘With the BJP now having representation in the Kerala Assembly, such attempts would be challenged with facts,' he added.

Gopakumar said the address offered no concrete plan on how Kerala intended to raise its own revenue, implement announced projects or mobilise resources for them. The leaders also claimed several Centre-backed welfare and development schemes had not been properly rolled out by the state.

A new political equation in the Assembly

The BJP leaders said the presence of three party MLAs in the Kerala Assembly had created a new political situation, and that the party would push back strongly against what they described as ‘one-sided attacks against the Union government'. The framing signals a more confrontational floor strategy from a bench that, until recently, had no presence at all.

CPI-M leader joins BJP

At the same event held at Mararji Bhavan, senior CPI-M leader S.S. Biju joined the BJP. Biju, who had served as Kazhakkoottam Town Local Committee secretary and held other party positions, said he was drawn by State Party President Rajeev Chandrasekhar's vision of a developed Kerala.

The electoral backdrop

The BJP reopened its account in Kerala at the recent Assembly polls by winning three seats. The party had opened its account for the first time in 2016 but failed to retain the seat in 2021. The next test will be whether its newly enlarged bench can convert press-conference combativeness into legislative traction.