“Everyone knows Jayarajan’s character. He maintains friendly relationships with people from various political backgrounds. There is nothing wrong with meeting Javadekar. I have also met him and conveyed that the BJP won’t gain anything from the elections here,” Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said.

Both the BJP and Congress had carried out agitations against the entry of women to the Sabarimala temple ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. However, agrarian difficulties dominate the people’s agenda in 2024. 

The Congress-led United Democratic Front’s perceived refusal to take on the Hindutva juggernaut head-on has made the Lok Sabha polls challenging for the Congress, even though a large section of the state’s electorate is hopeful for a change at the Centre.