BJP launches Kerala assembly election campaign; Rajeev Chandrasekhar kickstarts drive in Nemom

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], February 22 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday officially launched its campaign for the upcoming Kerala Legislative Assembly Election 2026, beginning from the Nemom constituency.
Kerala BJP President Rajeev Chandrasekhar inaugurated the campaign by writing the slogan "Nammukku Vendum Vikasistha Nemom" (We Need a Developed Nemom) on a wall, symbolically marking the start of the party's outreach in the constituency.
Kerala is expected to go to the polls before May 2026 to elect 140 members of the Kerala Legislative Assembly; no official date has been announced by the Election Commission of India.
Earlier this month, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National President Nitin Nabin on Friday lauched an attack on Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the United Democratic Front (UDF) alliances in Kerala, accusing them of undermining Sanatana Dharma and hindering the state's progress, asserting that the BJP would protest against their actions.
While addressing the Booth Presidents' Conference in Karukutty, Ernakulam, Nabin said, "For years, the politics of development here could have been taken forward, Kerala could have been moved forward in the direction of making it a top state. But both these parties, whether it is UDF or LDF, have worked to stop the development here by wrestling for power one after another. The youth here, who could have made a leading contribution to the development of this state by moving forward, were stopped. But I can say that today Kerala is standing at that turn where the youth are going to lead this storm of complete change."
He accused them of complicity in corruption and appeasement politics, calling them an "anarchic government," expressing confidence that people would side with the BJP ideology.
On the other hand, Kerala Education Minister V Shivankutty had expressed confidence that the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) will secure a massive victory in the upcoming Kerala Assembly elections, claiming the alliance would win as many as 110 seats.
Speaking to ANI, Shivankutty said, "The LDF will win 110 seats in this election. Our 'jathas' are seeing strong public participation. No one can claim that development hasn't happened; everything we promised has been delivered, even without central assistance. What reason does anyone have not to vote for us? They (Congress) came campaigning with Sabarimala Ayyappan parody songs, and now everything has collapsed for them. They may even need to write a new parody song. Out of the 110 seats we will win, Nemom will also be among them."
Multiple political parties have started gearing up and strategising for the polls, with a high-stakes triangular battle set to unfold between the Left Democratic Front (LDF), the United Democratic Front (UDF), and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
Both the BJP-led NDA and Congress-led UDF seek to unseat the incumbent Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led LDF and gain control of the 140-member assembly. The LDF-led government has governed the state for around a decade. (ANI)