Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], March 22 (ANI): Kerala BJP President Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Sunday hit back at Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for equating the party with Congress, calling it a 'shameless attempt' to garner Muslim votes.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that both the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Congress misled the voters by contesting against each other in Kerala, while having an alliance in other states.

BJP candidate from Nemom told ANI, 'Don't you find it amazing comedy that the Congress is accusing the BJP of being the B-team of the CPM, and the CPM is accusing the BJP of being the B-team of the Congress. When they are in a formal alliance, in other states, it is like saying people of Keralam are fools to believe this kind of nonsense. Just across the border, they are contesting together in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, and they have the gall to mislead the people of Keralam and say that they are not in an alliance with each other.'

'This is a shameless attempt with only one goal, both Congress and CPM are desperate to get the votes of the Muslim community. The only way they can get the votes of the Muslim community is by pretending that they are the ones opposing the BJP,' he added.

The BJP leader said that the Congress successfully used this strategy against the Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) during the Telangana Assembly elections.

'Congress did it successfully in Telangana. They manufactured a controversy that the BRS is a B-team of the BJP. Sadly, the Muslim vote abandoned the BRS and went to Congress. But people of Keralam will not be fooled by you. They have seen 70 years of corruption, negligence and appeasement and have said enough,' Chandrasekhar said.

This comes after Vijayan, in an interview with ANI, criticised both the BJP and Congress for sharing similar stances and policies on imperialism.

Criticising Centre over the West Asia conflict, the Kerala CM said, 'On such matters, both Congress and the BJP have the same stance. That is why when the BJP came to power, it began to implement Congress policies more intensely.'

Vijayan also claimed the BJP will not be able to win even a single seat in the 2026 Kerala Assembly elections. However, Rajeev Chandrasekhar cited the historic Thiruvananthapuram Corporation win for the party, saying that the BJP is the largest party in the world.

Chandrasekhar said that both CPI(M) and Congress are 'scared to death' of the BJP.

'Tragedy is that he (Vijayan) is not the one to decide. The voters will decide. He said that we would not get the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, but we got it. The Communist Party has only one MP from the state and has less than two to three per cent vote share at the national level. The BJP is the largest political party in the world and an emerging force in Keralam politics. We are the only ones that can bring peace and prosperity, and the CPM and Congress are scared to death,' the BJP leader told ANI.

Earlier on Saturday, Vijayan told ANI, 'Some people wish for the BJP to grow, and they are taking steps for that. The fact that the BJP won the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation in the local self-government elections also remains. However, that should not be misunderstood as the entire people of Kerala accepting the BJP. I am firmly convinced that the BJP will not get even a single seat in this Assembly election.'

Polling for Kerala Assembly elections will be held in a single phase on April 9, with counting of votes scheduled for May 4.

The CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front will look to defend its power against the Congress-led United Democratic Front. With a historic win in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation polls, the BJP has also become a party in the fray. (ANI)