Kerala CM Vijayan questions secular credentials of Congress

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday questioned the secular credentials of the Congress, adding that the party is “degenerating into BJP’s B team”.

The Chief Minster said that Congress is not displaying the flags of its ally Indian Union Muslim League for the campaign of Rahul Gandhi in Wayanad and termed this as an example of weakening of the secular tradition of the Congress.

“This situation depicts the significant decline of the Congress party and the UDF, where they struggle to hold their party flag or that of their ally, the Muslim League, upright while seeking votes,” Vijayan said during a press conference here.

“The Congress lacks any genuine ideological or practical motivation to oppose the BJP, beyond the rhetoric crafted by news-centric PR agencies. Congress rivalry with the BJP is primarily confined to electoral politics and power struggles, rather than rooted in substantive ideological differences. Consequently, the Congress has evolved into a party primarily focused on gaining traction within the realm of power politics,” he said.

While exuding confidence in strong performance of the Left Democratic Front in the upcoming general election in Kerala, he also questioned the credibility of pre-poll surveys.

“Just as we often discuss paid news, some surveys have taken on a similar tone. Certain media outlets have been particularly active, propagating half-truths, exaggerations, and misleading information to their readers,” he said.

“People are questioning whether this survey is biased. Can you provide the audience with the scientific analysis that led to this conclusion? The methodology behind the survey, including the sample size and how the results were predicted, remains undisclosed in the pre-poll survey findings. These figures, backed by certain agencies, serve only to mislead the public. The pre-poll survey results from the previous assembly elections stand as a prime example of this manipulation,” he added.

Although the Left parties and the Congress are part of a larger INDIA bloc, they are opposed to each other in Kerala where the Congress is currently in opposition as part of the UDF alliance.

All the 20 constituencies in Kerala go to the poll on 26 April in the second phase of the Lok Sabha election.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls while the Congress party had won 15 seats, its allies, the Indian Union Muslim League, won two seats, the Revolutionary Socialist Party won one, and the Kerala Congress (M) won one seat. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) won one seat in Alappuzha.