Kochi, Feb 23 (IANS) With Prime Minister Narendra Modi scheduled to visit Kochi on March 6 to release the NDA’s election manifesto, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on Monday signalled the formal launch of its election campaign in Kerala by inaugurating its regional office in Ernakulam.

The inauguration, attended by Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, is being viewed as part of the alliance’s organisational preparations ahead of the Prime Minister’s visit and the upcoming electoral exercise in the state.

Party leaders said the opening of the regional office marked the transition from preparatory organisational work to full-fledged campaign mobilisation across Kerala.

Speaking to mediapersons in Ernakulam, BJP Kerala State President Rajeev Chandrasekhar said the alliance had officially commenced its election campaign.

“Union Minister Kiren Rijiju ji was here for the inauguration of the NDA regional office in Ernakulam. We have started our campaign, and we are aiming for a campaign focused on development rather than controversy,” he said.

The choice of Kochi, a politically and economically significant urban centre in central Kerala, underscores the NDA’s attempt to strengthen its organisational and electoral presence in a region considered strategically important.

The newly inaugurated regional office is expected to function as a coordination hub for campaign planning and execution across multiple districts, streamline communication between party units, and reinforce booth-level organisational structures.

Rijiju’s presence at the inauguration lent national-level visibility to the event and reflected the central leadership’s active engagement with the party’s Kerala unit ahead of the campaign.

Prime Minister Modi’s visit on March 6 is expected to be a high-profile political event, with the release of the NDA’s election manifesto likely to outline the alliance’s priorities and campaign narrative in Kerala.

Sources indicated that the Prime Minister’s visit could also include outreach to key community and social leaders as part of the NDA’s broader electoral strategy in the state.

By foregrounding development as its central campaign plank, the NDA appears keen to frame the electoral contest around governance, infrastructure development, and economic progress.

Monday’s inauguration, held less than two weeks before the Prime Minister’s visit, signals an early and coordinated campaign push by the alliance as it seeks to expand its organisational base and electoral footprint in Kerala.

In the 140-member Kerala Legislative Assembly, the BJP currently has no representation. However, actor-turned-politician Suresh Gopi created history in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections by becoming the first BJP candidate to win the Thrissur parliamentary constituency in the state.

–IANS

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