Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan on Lok Sabha elections, secular democracy in India

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan hit the campaign trail on 30 March for a 24-day tour of Kerala's 20 Lok Sabha constituencies.

On 29 March, Vijayan discussed the 2024 Parliamentary elections and underscored that the parliamentary elections were a referendum on "preserving India's secular democracy" and little else, reports The Hindu.

Vijayan said it was reductive to depict the Left Democratic Front's (LDF) staunch resistance to the implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act of India as a "question about minority or majority". 

Instead, the "question is about secularism" [in India], he added. 

He said the congress's disintegration was not in the LDF's interest. However, pursuing a soft Hindutva line would not keep the more extreme Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from the door. 

He said defections from secular and democratic parties empowered the right wing, which was disconcerting. 

Vijayan said Rahul Gandhi would have no effect in 2024. The people of Wayanad would evaluate him for his work as an MP, which was hardly any. 

Vijayan said the congress and the BJP's recriminatory campaigns would not affect the hustings. 

"It is not a question about minority or majority, it is a question about secularism. Should India continue to remain as a secular democratic nation or should we be viewed alongside the likes of religious states like Afghanistan? That is the real question. India's glorious anti-colonial freedom struggle was fought by those belonging to all faiths as well as those who did not believe in any religion. They fought for a secular India and therefore nobody should be denied Indian citizenship on the basis of their religious identity. We are not looking at votes, our focus is on preserving India's secular identity," he said.

He further said, "We want all secular and democratic forces to come together against the communal BJP regime led by the RSS. So, any weakening of the secular and democratic forces in the country is definitely a matter of concern. When people switch from secular and democratic parties to communal and authoritarian sides, it will certainly empower the right wing. To defeat the BJP by pursuing soft hindutva policies is not possible. It is required to confront them with the uncompromising positions of anti-communal politics."

Asked if he thought Rahul Gandhi's candidature from Wayanad would shore up the prospects of the UDF as it did in 2019, or is the so-called Rahul effect water under the bridge, he said, "There is no effect, he will be evaluated for the work he has done as an MP from Kerala. People in Wayanad, his constituency, are seriously asking questions about his presence and performance in the Lok Sabha, especially on issues that mattered to them the most, like human-wildlife conflict, CAA, NIA, Ayodhya etc. 

"If the congress is actually keen on fighting the BJP, they would certainly contest directly against the BJP candidates. What is the message you are giving to the Indian public if even your topmost leaders are reluctant to fight the BJP?"

He added, "We have not shown any fear in any community. It is the BJP-RSS combined with their politics of violence and hatred, and policies of discrimination and profiling such as the CAA and NIA, that are instilling fear in various sections of the Indian society."