"Fearless and courageous": Rahul Gandhi praises Keralam women, promises safety measures

Speaking at a public rally in Idukki, Gandhi stressed the fearless attitude of a young girl who recited Vande Mataram in front of a large crowd.

"The young woman who sang Vande Mataram at the public meeting, before such a large crowd and without fear, represents the women of Keralam - fearless and courageous. And that is why we want to ensure that every woman in Keralam is protected. This is why bus travel is going to be free for every woman after the UDF comes to power," the LoP said.

Reiterating his allegations regarding US influence over Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gandhi claimed that Keralam Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is under Modi's control, similar to how Modi is "controlled" by US President Donald Trump.

"Narendra Modi is fully controlled by Donald Trump... The most humiliating part is that Narendra Modi calls Donald Trump 'Sir'. He thinks he is back in the British times... Donald Trump controls PM Modi the way PM Modi controls Pinarayi Vijayan," said Gandhi.

Earlier, Gandhi took aim at the Left Democratic Front (LDF), asserting that the coalition has abandoned its ideological principles and that there will be nothing "Left" in the LDF following the elections.

Addressing a public rally in Alappuzha, the Congress MP asserted that the United Democratic Front had been battling against LDF ideas and the party stood for certain policies due to which they had the word "Left" in their political organisation's structure.

"The LDF were our opponents for years, and we fought them, and we will continue to fight them. But for many years, they stood for certain ideas we disagreed with, and we fought them on those ideas. But they stood for something, and as a symbol of that, they have the word 'Left' in their organisation structure's name. What does LDF stand for? Left Democratic Front. Frankly, there is nothing 'Left' about the Left front, and after the elections, there will be nothing 'Left' of the Left front," said Rahul Gandhi.

Alleging a nexus between the BJP, RSS, and LDF, Gandhi accused a "hidden hand" of controlling the Keralam government, undermining the Constitution, and targeting citizens and described many LDF leaders as opportunistic, acting solely to gain power, while some party workers feel betrayed and hurt.

"What is disturbing the leader on the stage is that their policies are no longer of the Left. What is disturbing him, and many, many workers of the Left Front, is that there is a hidden hand today that is running the LDF government. The hidden hand is communal, doesn't accept the Constitution of India, divides the people of India, attacks the people of India, humiliates the people of India, and everybody in Kerala can see that there is a relationship now between the BJP, RSS, and the Left Front, CPM," said Gandhi.

The Congress MP further described the LDF as a bloc full of "opportunistic" leaders who cannot go to any extent to gain power. He further highlighted that such leaders do not care about being helped by the BJP, RSS, adding that there is a certain party cadre who doesn't have such ideas, feels betrayed and hurt.

"Most leaders in the Left Front are opportunistic leaders. Understand this: some opportunistic leaders will do anything to come to power. They don't care whether they are being helped by the BJP, RSS. They don't care. Then, some leaders believe in something. Some workers have spent many, many years working for the ideology, who are feeling betrayed, let down, hurt, and who are very upset about what is happening to their party," he said.

Hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Congress MP stressed his regular attacks on him and Congress; however, he questioned him for not targeting the LDF government. Gandhi further reflected on his fight against the BJP, RSS, adding on how his Lok Sabha membership, house and 38 cases were registered, but he never "backed down" in front of the government.

"I fight the BJP. I fight the RSS. I have got 38 cases on me. They took away my house. They took away my Lok Sabha. I am out on bail. They interrogated me for 55 hours, but I never backed down. PM Narendra Modi attacks Congress every single time. Why does he not attack the Chief Minister? Why does he not attack his family?" said Gandhi.

The Congress leader also reflected on PM Modi's recent speeches with a religious context but questioned him for not speaking about the Sabarimala gold theft issue. Gandhi noted that the Prime Minister forgets god, religion and temples when he comes to Keralam because he wants to "help the LDF government", and "UDF is on his target."

"Forget that, Narendra Modi in every other speech mentions God, temples, and religion--every second speech of his. How somebody has insulted his God, temple, or religion. And the most valued temple in Kerala, the gold was stolen from that temple. Gold is stolen from Lord Aiyappa's temple. It is replaced by brass. The Prime Minister comes to Kerala, doesn't say a word about it. He has forgotten God, the temple, and religion because he wants to help the LDF and the Kerala CM. Truth is, that LDF can never challenge him in India. That is why the UDF is his target," said Gandhi.

The main political contest in Kerala has always remained between the Left Democratic Front and UDF, wherein both have returned to power one after another in elections; however, the trend was broken in 2021, when LDF was voted to power once again. However, this time, with a three-way fight, the NDA have their prospects high with the recent successes of winning their first ever Lok Sabha seat in the name of Thrissur in 2024, whereas on the other hand, the party was able to secure victory in the Thiruvananthapuram local body polls.

The Left Democratic Front, which is led by Communist Party of India (Marxist) include other key parties, including Kerala Congress (M), Rashtriya Janata Dal and Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar). On the other hand, the UDF bloc consists of the Indian National Congress, Kerala Congress and the Indian Union Muslim League.

The National Democratic Alliance, led by Bharatiya Janata Party, also feature few relevant state parties, including the Twenty 20 Party, Bharath Dharma Jana Sena and Kerala Kamaraj Congress.

Polling for the 2026 Keralam Legislative Assembly elections will be held on April 9, with the counting of votes on May 4. The tenure of the current assembly is set to conclude on May 23. (ANI)