By Ashraf Padanna/Thiruvananthapuram


Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, who is challenging Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, drew huge crowds at four rallies he addressed in Kerala yesterday.
At the meetings held in the north, south and central parts of the Congress-ruled state, Gandhi launched an attack on the leftist and rightist ideologies and stressed the need for an alternative system and people-driven development that ensures fairness and prosperity.
In what looked like a rehearsal for today’s rally in New Delhi, Gandhi took care not to cross the limits while launching an attack on political opponents including Modi who had repeatedly alleged that the only agenda of the Congress was to crown the “shehzada” (the prince).
Unlike Modi whose costumes, rallies and speeches are tailor-made to attract huge crowds, Gandhi sought to look like a “commoner,” freely communicating with the local leaders, adjusting curtains on the podium and mingling with the crowds at will. He braved scorching heat in Idukki and soaked in the rain in Thiruvananthapuram to reach out to the enthusiastic crowd.
According to surveys conducted by various agencies in the run-up to the election in Kerala, the Congress Party is ahead of others and Modi is far behind Gandhi in popularity.
The BJP is also predicted to draw a blank in the state.
Promising to make India a manufacturing hub by creating industrial corridors across the nation and challenging the Chinese dominance, Gandhi said 100mn new jobs could thus be created and expand the country’s middle class to 700mn.
He alleged the BJP was pursuing divisive politics while the Left parties led by the
Communist Party of India (Marxist) were hampering industrial development and “distributing poverty” at the cost of the economy.
“I heard the other day one leader saying he wants to be the chowkidar (gatekeeper) of India. But I will say that the Congress wants all people of India to be the nation’s chowkidars. We believe in millions of Indians who will give us ideas for peace and prosperity,” Gandhi said in Kasaragod.
He arrived in the state from Mangalore in the neighboring Karnataka state, also ruled by the Congress, and flew back to the national capital in the evening after a whirlwind tour.
His last stop was at Pallippuram, some 20km from the state capital.
Gandhi said the BJP’s “one man, one model” approach, trying to make people believe that Modi had answers to all their problems, would not cut ice as the voters have become more knowledgeable.
“The BJP has not even produced a manifesto. They really don’t care what you think. They do not respect you. They believe that one man has all the answers and he does not listen to anybody and he believes he knows everything,” said Gandhi.
Attacking the BJP’s economic and social policies, he said “its idea of India shining is to empower five to six businesses and give all your resources to them. It is the idea of taking from the poor and giving it to the rich.”
Turning to the Communists who are the principal opponents of his party in Kerala, Gandhi said: “Even a single vote to CPM goes indirectly to the BJP” as they “won’t play any active role at the Centre after the polls.”
Apparently referring to the political killings in the northern parts of Kerala, Gandhi said there was no place for violence and intimidation in a democratic polity.
Kerala goes to the polls to elect 20 members to the Lok Sabha on April 10.