Epicentre of BJP’s South India campaign shifts to Kerala as PM Modi arrives on a two-day electioneering tour

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in Kochi for a two-day electioneering tour of Kerala.

The epicentre of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s campaign in South India will likely shift to Kerala as Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in Kochi late on April 14 for a two-day electioneering tour of the State.

On April 15, Mr. Modi will campaign in the Alathur Lok Sabha constituency for retired college principal T.N. Sarasu at a public rally at Cheruvathoor.

Ms. Sarasu came under the BJP’s scanner after the SFI gave her a mock funeral on campus when she retired as principal of the Government Victoria College in Palakkad in 2016.

Later in the day, Mr. Modi will fly to Thiruvananthapuram, where he will campaign for the BJP’s high-profile candidates Rajiv Chandrasekhar (Thiruvananthapuram) and V. Muraleedharan (Attingal) at a public meeting in Kattakada.

Mr. Modi is fresh from unveiling the NDA’s election manifesto in New Delhi. He might spotlight the BJP’s manifesto commitments, including free rations and power, expanded health and women empowerment schemes for the poor.

In his past visits to Kerala, Mr. Modi often addressed supporters in the third person, punctuating his speeches with the BJP’s campaign refrain, “Modi’s guarantee”.

He also promised to end the “LDF-UDF revolving door politics” in Kerala, and brand both alliances as INDIA bloc allies masquerading as imaginary foes to hoodwink Kerala’s electorate.