'Corruption & appeasement politics' take centerstage as PM Modi sounds poll bugle in Tamil Nadu & Kerala

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday launched a twin political offensive in southern India, targeting the CPI(M)-led LDF government in Kerala and DMK regime in Tamil Nadu, projecting the BJP-NDA as the alternative to what he called decades of "neglect, corruption and misgovernance."

In Kerala’s capital Thiruvananthapuram, Modi celebrated the BJP’s breakthrough victory in the civic polls in the long-time Left stronghold, sharing warm moments with newly elected mayor V V Rajesh and other civic leaders at a public event at Putharikandam Maidan. The Prime Minister embraced the mayor, raised his hand while waving to the crowd, and bowed with folded hands when Deputy Mayor Asha Nath touched his feet. BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar and NDA convener Tushar Vellappally presented Modi with idols of Lord Ayyappa, while Rajesh gifted him figurines of Lord Ganapathy and Lord Vishnu.

Addressing the gathering, Modi accused both the LDF and the Congress-led UDF of having “neglected Thiruvananthapuram for decades,” claiming the city was deprived of basic facilities and infrastructure. He promised full central support to develop the capital into one of the country’s top cities, asserting that “the long-overdue change is on its way.”

The Kerala visit also sparked controversy, with State General Education Minister V Sivankutty objecting to the alleged exclusion of the mayor from the official welcoming committee at the airport. He called it a violation of federal principles and an insult to the people of the capital.

From Kerala, Modi shifted his political firepower to Tamil Nadu, kickstarting the NDA’s 2026 Assembly election campaign with a frontal attack on the ruling DMK. Coining the acronym “CMC” — Corruption, Mafia, Crime — Modi branded the DMK a “CMC government” and said its “countdown has started.”

At a massive rally attended by leaders of AIADMK, AMMK and PMK, Modi accused the DMK of dynasty politics, misgovernance and functioning for only one family. He also flagged rising crime and drug abuse, and batted for a “double engine” NDA government working shoulder to shoulder with the Centre.

Across both states, Modi used the same day and two platforms to position the BJP-NDA as the agent of change, while casting the Left in Kerala and the DMK in Tamil Nadu as entrenched regimes marked by failure and corruption.