The ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF and the Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) on Thursday sought to downplay the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) gambit to strategically put Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the front and centre of its ambitious 2024 Lok Sabha campaign in Kerala.
Local leaders had pointedly taken a back seat at Wednesday’s BJP-sponsored women’s rally in Thrissur as Mr. Modi appealed directly to voters and presented himself as the embodiment of the party and Central government.
Mr. Modi’s messaging was often in the third person in what was widely viewed as his first campaign speech in South India. He presented the Central government’s welfare and development schemes as tangible manifestations of “Modi’s guarantee” to the people.
