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Union Minister JP Nadda on Saturday in Thiruvananthapuram launched a sharp attack on the ruling parties, alleging 15 years of looting the nation's wealth and sacred gold, and urged voters to give his party the mandate in the Kerala assembly elections on April 9, 2026.
Addressing the crowd, Nadda said, "Give us the mandate, and we will bring all these culprits to book. For the past fifteen years, they have not even spared the nation's gold." He further alleged, "The so-called United groups have been looting the people, the wealth, and even the sacred gold that belongs to the nation. Their actions have caused immense harm to the common citizen and the nation's resources." Nadda added a firm assurance, saying, "On behalf of my party, I assure you: if you bring us to power with the mandate, we will ensure that every individual and every party involved in wrongdoing will be brought to justice. They will go to jail." The Union Minister's call for action against alleged corruption and looting comes ahead of the Keralam legislative assembly elections on April 9, 2026, as the BJP-led NDA aims to unseat the ruling CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front, which has governed the state for nearly a decade under Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The Election Commission of India (ECI), on March 15, announced that the 2026 Keralam legislative assembly elections will be held in a single phase on April 9, with counting of votes scheduled for May 4. The tenure of the current assembly is set to conclude on May 23. The BJP-led NDA is aiming to unseat the incumbent Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) and gain control of the 140-member Keralam Niyamasabha. The LDF has governed the state for approximately a decade, with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan leading consecutive terms. In the Keralam legislative assembly elections held in a single phase on April 6, 2021, the results were declared on May 2, 2021. The incumbent LDF retained power with 99 seats, marking the first time since 1977 that a ruling alliance secured consecutive terms in the state. The UDF won 41 seats, while the NDA saw a decline in vote share and lost its only seat in the Assembly. Following the victory, Pinarayi Vijayan became the first Chief Minister of Kerala to be re-elected after completing a full five-year term in office. In terms of vote share, the LDF received 41.5 per cent of the total votes, significantly ahead of the UDF, which secured 38.4 per cent. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), secured 11.4 per cent of the votes but failed to win a single seat in the election. Among individual parties in 2021, the CPI(M) emerged as the single largest party with 62 seats and a vote share of 25.5 per cent. The Indian National Congress (INC) won 21 seats with a comparable vote share of 25.2 per cent, while the Communist Party of India (CPI) secured 17 seats. The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), a key UDF ally, won 15 seats. (ANI)
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