Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had a terse message on Sunday, 15 October, for the BJP after it ended up in fourth place in the Vengara assembly bypoll – “don’t mess with Kerala”.
The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), a key partner in the Congress-led UDF Opposition in Kerala, retained the Vengara seat by defeating its nearest rival CPI(M) candidate.
The UDF and Left Democratic Front (LDF) garnered 65,227 and 41,917 votes respectively. BJP’s candidate K Jayachandran Master secured 5,728 votes.
Vijayan also taunted the BJP's Jan Raksha Yatra, saying the month-long campaign's results appeared to be negligible as the people of Kerala spoke against it in one voice.
He accused the BJP and the RSS of carrying out a “malicious campaign” to tarnish the image of the state and damage its tourism industry.
A boycott Kerala campaign is being run with the call to bring tourism in Kerala to its knees. People of other states are asked not to come to Kerala so as to bring our tourism industry to a standstill.Pinarayi Vijayan
The chief minister said the BJP had even routed its yatra through the Vengara constituency but the victory of the Indian Union Muslim League had put paid to its efforts.
“Despite dirty tricks and attempts for communal polarisation, BJP has been relegated to the fourth position with a much-reduced vote share. This is a pointer and strong warning to the BJP that they can't mess with Kerala,” he said.
(With inputs from PTI)
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