Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Tamil Nadu and Kerala on January 27 amid growing momentum in the campaign for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

In the Tamil Nadu temple town of Madurai, Modi will lay the foundation stone for the state’s first All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). BJP functionaries indicated that Modi’s speech on the occasion will be aimed at reaching out to a much larger audience of south Indian voters.

In this Lok Sabha, the BJP has just one MP from Tamil Nadu—Pon Radhakrishnan— and is yet to open its account in Kerala. Tamil Nadu and Kerala together send 59 MPs to the Lok Sabha and the Modi government, eyeing a second consecutive term, is keen to expand its electoral footprint to the states. In Tamil Nadu, the BJP is also hopeful of an alliance with the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK).

AIADMK, too, has expressed its inclination to form an alliance with the BJP in the state where its arch rival Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) is all set to for a tie-up with the Congress.

Officials in the Prime Minister’s Office added that Modi will fly to Thrissur in Kerala from Madurai to participate in a public rally. It will be hist second visit in less than a fortnight to the state, where he will also dedicate an integrated refinery expansion project to the nation at a function in Kochi. The Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited project cost Rs 16,500 crore.

Earlier, visiting Kerala on January 15 for the inauguration of a bypass, Modi had come down heavily on the left front government over the Sabarimala issue and warned the CPI(M) that it will face a Tripura-like situation if it continued to antagonise people.

Addressing a meeting of the National Democratic Alliance in Kollam (south Kerala), the PM said the state government handled the emotional issue in a shameful manner. The PM said people know Communists don’t respect history, culture and spirituality. “For a few months the entire nation has been talking about Sabarimala. The conduct of the LDF government on the issue will go down as one of the most shameful behaviour by any government or party,” he said adding violence and intimidation won’t subdue his party workers in the state.

He said BJP stands for culture and spirituality of the land and exhorted party workers saying their hard work and suffering won’t be wasted.“The left says one thing in parliament and another in Pathanamthitta where the famed temple is situated. Whether it is social justice or gender equality, they have double standard ” he said.

First Published: Jan 22, 2019 23:52 IST