The visit fell far short of the high expectations raised by the BJP’s Kerala leadership. Modi will come and make big announcements benefiting Kerala, including a development plan for Thiruvananthapuram Corporation which, for the first time has a BJP Mayor. That was the bombast of top BJP leaders in Kerala.

Nothing of the sort has happened. There was no announcement on the much-awaited AIIMS for the State. The Prime Minister was also silent on the high-speed rail project. The silence on the Rs 5,738 crore the Union Government owes Kerala was deafening, too. To put it in a nutshell, the visit was a letdown.

Instead of making any big announcements, the Prime Minister used the occasion to make a political speech lashing out at both the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Congress-led Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF). The time has come, Modi said, to remove both the fronts who had ruined the state with bad administration, mismanagement and corruption. Kerala now needs a double-engine Government for speedy development. He said that the gold theft had happened in Sabarimala – a statement factually incorrect - Ayyappa Temple under the LDF Government. “This is Modi’s guarantee that those involved will be nabbed and punished if the BJP came to power.” Modi also criticized the Congress by saying that Congress is now known nationally as Muslim League Maoist Congress. And is allying in Kerala with “separatist forces”.

The speech goes against his own statements made in the past there should be no politics when it comes to development. The implication was that non-BJP governments need not expect any substantial help from the Centre. This militates against the concept of cooperative federalism the BJP leaders tom tom day in and day out.

Kerala Chief Minister made a short speech welcoming the PM. He thanked the Prime Minister for the four projects he announced on the occasion. He also hoped that the Prime Minister will also give the green signal to Kerala’s “genuine demands”. The PM was courteous to the Chief Minister. But at the party meeting held later, he sharply criticised the LDF Government headed by Pinarayi.

On his part, CPI state secretary Binoy Viswom said the Prime Minister’s visit was disappointing. He did not care to concede any long-standing demands made by the State.

In short, the visit was a big letdown. There was no answer from the PM or the BJP leadership on Kerala’s legitimate rights. Dues amounting to Rs 5783.69 crore have been pending for a long time. The PM made no reference to that. Kerala still remembers the step-motherly meted out to the State when it faced one of the biggest natural disasters in the State’s history in Wayanad. The PM then visited Wayanad, said a few comforting words. That’s all. No financial assistance worth mentioning was announced. This was in glaring contrast to the speed with which BJP-ruled Tripura was extended crores at short notice and Andhra Pradesh when natural disasters hit the two states. Kerala was denied funds from foreign countries. But that norm was not applicable to BJP-ruled Maharashtra, which received foreign assistance in a big way.

Modi’s visit was also marred by controversy. The list of dignitaries who were supposed to receive the Prime Minister did not have the name of Thiruvananthapuram, Mayor V. V. Rajesh. Who removed his name? It is not clear. But the guess is that Rajesh became a victim of the virulent groupism which besets the Kerala unit of the BJP. The LDF Government had included Rajesh in the list of 22 dignitaries to received the PM. Nor has the PMO any role in the humiliation meted out to Rajesh. The grapevine has it that it is the handiwork of the top BJP leaders in Kerala who were not happy with the choice of Rajesh as the Mayor. They had lobbied for making former Kerala DGP Sreelekha the Mayor. Whatever the reason, the episode has left a trail of bitterness which can only deepen the faction feud within the Kerala unit of the BJP.

Sreelekha, who left the dais after being sidelined - it was a sad sight - was not the only BJP leader who was insulted. The Prime Minister, who greeted the BJP leaders on the dais, gave former BJP state chief K. Surendran the cold shoulder. Another BJP leader who was humiliated was Padmaja Venugopal who joined BJP leaving Congress. It may be mentioned that Surendran is out of favour of the current BJP leadership in Kerala. The grapevine is abuzz that Rajesh was given the cold shoulder because he managed to become the Mayor edging out Sreelekha who was Rajiv’s candidate for the post.

At the end of the day, the PM left without conceding any of the major demands of the State. All that he did was to attend a road show and make a one-hour speech. The saving grace was the launching of the PM SVANidhi credit card scheme. Modi said this was a nationwide initiative begun from Kerala, which will benefit street vendors and hawkers across the country. The inauguration of a new CSIR Innovation Hub in Kerala and the launch of a radio surgery centre at the medical college hospital would help establish Kerala as a hub of science, innovation and health care, he claimed.

The Prime Minister also flagged off four trains: Thiruvananthapuram-Tambaram Amrit Bharat Express, the Nagercoil-Mangaluru Amrit Bharat Express, the Thiruvananthapuram-Charlappalli Amrit Bharat Express and the Thrissur-Guruvayur passenger train. (IPA Service)