Kerala No Place For BJP, State Won't Accept Communalism: Pinarayi Vijayan

The LDF's victory in the Assembly election symbolised Kerala's rejection of religious divisiveness, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, rejuvenated by a fresh and decisive mandate today, chose to focus considerably on attacking the BJP-led opposition alliance even though his government's main rival remains the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF). In an exclusive interview with NDTV, he said the ruling front's victory in the Assembly election symbolised Kerala's rejection of religious divisiveness. The Left Democratic Front today retained power in Kerala, cornering up to 97 seats -- six more than in 2016 -- defeating the UDF and the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). The feat is being dubbed historic because the state has for decades alternated between the LDF and UDF every five years without fail. The NDA, a key third pillar in the state's politics, lost even its single standing seat -- Nemom -- to the LDF. Even as the final votes were still being counted, Mr Vijayan, who himself won the Dharmadom constituency in Kannur by a huge margin today, attacked the NDA saying it was trying to stir up religious strife in the state long known for its social harmony. "Kerala is not a place for the BJP. Kerala will not accept communalism or religious divisiveness," Mr Vijayan told NDTV. "The BJP won its last seat because of cross-voting by the Congress or UDF. We had said we will close the BJP's account in Kerala."