Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a gathering during a public meeting in Palakkad on March 29, 2026. Photo: narendramodi.in
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday (March 29, 2026) intensified the National Democratic Alliance (NDA)’s campaign for the April 9 Kerala Assembly election with a sharp attack on both the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the opposition United Democratic Front (UDF). Alleging that the two fronts had alternated in power for decades while “looting” the State through corruption and misgovernance, Mr. Modi said their politics had deprived the people of Kerala of resources, opportunities and growth.
Positioning the BJP-led NDA as a decisive alternative, the Prime Minister said that an NDA government would advance the vision of a “Viksit Kerala,” promising faster development and measures to curb the outward migration of educated youth by creating opportunities within the State. “It is Modi’s guarantee to you. The NDA’s guarantee is Modi’s guarantee,” he said while addressing a rally of all 12 NDA candidates from Palakkad district. A large crowd gathered at Fort Grounds at 2 p.m., braving the intense summer heat to attend the event.
The Prime Minister alleged that both the UDF and the LDF were misleading the public by labelling each other the BJP’s B-team. “That is an inadvertent admission by both fronts that the BJP is the real A-team in Kerala,” he said.
He said that for decades, Kerala had been trapped between the fronts that alternated in power without delivering progress. “If one was communal, the other was overly communal; if one was corrupt, the other was excessively corrupt. Both UDF and LDF have cheated the public by relying on vote-bank politics,” he said.
The Prime Minister accused the LDF government of plunging Kerala into a debt of ₹5 lakh crore. “Kerala’s debt has tripled in the last 10 years, with the money going into the pockets of the LDF,” he said. If the NDA comes to power, we will recover the funds and use them for the welfare of the public, Mr. Modi said.
He said both the Congress and the Left shared a long history of misgovernance, pointing to the Left’s record in Bengal and Tripura and the Congress’s performance nationwide. He stressed the BJP’s focus on a women-led development model, highlighting initiatives across several sectors, including health, and citing the passage of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam law. “Under the NDA, girls from disadvantaged backgrounds will be empowered to achieve new heights,” he said, contrasting this with Congress leaders, whom he described as obstacles to women’s progress and safety.
Acknowledging the hard work of Palakkad’s paddy farmers, Mr. Modi said that only the BJP can provide effective support to the farming community. “Instead of helping, the State government is trapping farmers in debt,” he said, adding that an NDA government in Kerala would end their woes, a promise he called “Modi’s guarantee”.
He promised to expose the corruption involving the LDF and the UDF if the BJP comes to power in Kerala. “Both of them are engaged in corruption and looting, but they never expose each other. The BJP will ensure justice for the people by investigating and revealing the LDF-UDF misdeeds,” he said.
Published – March 29, 2026 04:46 pm IST
