Kerala assembly polls: BJP's agenda is to weaken Congress, says A K Antony

Thiruvananthapuram: As BJP projects itself as an alternative in the bi-polar polity of Kerala, former union minister A K Antony on Saturday said its goal was to ensure defeat of the ruling-UDF led by Congress in the May 16 assembly polls to weaken the party at the national level.

The UDF should ensure that BJP does not get a single seat in the elections so that communal harmony is preserved in the state, the senior Congress leader said.

Antony, who is launching his whirlwind campaign tour from Kasargod on Sunday, also came down on CPI-M's 'politics of violence' and said LDF should not come to power as the Marxist party hasn't done enough for the development of the state.

Taking a dig at the CPI(M), he said the Communist party, which is quite active on social media platforms had once opposed the introduction of computers by Rajiv Gandhi and mechanisation of farm operations.

"CPI(M) was like a 'rip wan winkle' and wakes up only after a gap of 25 years. So, we should not allow it to come to power," he said.

Targeting the BJP, Antony said after the NDA came to power two years ago, there had been several instances of tension and violence in various parts of the country.

"Communal polarisation, creating communal divide and tensions" were the main agenda of the BJP, he alleged. Since coming to power, the slogan of BJP-NDA was

'Congress free India', he said cautioning that if Congress was weakened, "there will be none to challenge them", he said.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Vice President Rahul Gandhi had been battling both inside and outside Parliament against the 'wrong' policies of the NDA government, he said.

As part of BJP's 'conspiracy' to weaken the Congress, governments in Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand were brought down, and in BJP ruled states of Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat, where Congress was the main opposition, attempts were being made to make it less effective, he alleged.

Antony also said the alliance forged by BJP with Bharat Dharma Jana Sena of Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam in Kerala would not yield desired result to both parties.

"Kerala voters will not accept this alliance and I feel that both parties will suffer," he said.

BJP, which is yet to send a member to the Kerala assembly, is going all out to break the jinx this time and has lined up campaign rallies by top leaders led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will address six meetings, and party chief Amit Shah.

On UDF's prospects, Antony said he felt both UDF and LDF were neck-and-neck in the race now, while a couple of days ago LDF did have an edge.

He wanted Congress and UDF workers to sink differences if any and work for the victory of the front.

"This is a do or die battle. UDF's victory is the aim. We should set aside small differences and fight unitedly to ensure that UDF emerges victorious," Antony said.