‘Metro man’ E. Sreedharan has adopted a confident tone on the prospects of the BJP in the Kerala Assembly polls ever since he joined the saffron party last month. In an interview to THE WEEK last month, Sreedharan had claimed the BJP "can come to power, or at least become a kingmaker" in Kerala if it closed ranks and highlighted its campaign promises.
As voting day (April 6) approaches, Sreedharan's confidence in the BJP's chances seems to have grown.
In an interaction with ANI on Wednesday, Sreedharan said, "I think the BJP has very good prospects of winning seats in Kerala. It may be an absolute majority or even it could have accessible number by which they [party] will be the kingmaker."
Sreedharan on Wednesday participated in a roadshow with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Palakkad, from where he is contesting. "I think this [roadshow] will have a tremendous effect on the morale of people who were let off by the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the United Democratic Front (UDF) governments. People will vote for the BJP," Sreedharan told ANI.
Sreedharan has made projecting the need for industrialisation to create jobs in Kerala a key part of his campaign themes. "There are hardly any industries in Kerala today. Only industries can bring wealth to the state. Job creation is necessary as Kerala has the most unemployed youths. I will try to raise the standard of the education system. I will work to bring a transparent, efficient and corruption-free government," Sreedharan was quoted as saying by Times Now.
Sreedharan also hit back at the LDF for criticising him over footage of people washing his feet. "Washing the feet of elders is a tradition, and the Left party did not know about it. This is a way of showing respect to our elders and is done by everyone. My children also do it. This is a practice throughout India, not just in Kerala. By criticising this, the Left has reflected that they have no regard for our tradition," Sreedharan declared.
