Thiruvananthapuram:
About 300 CPM workers in Kerala have gone from red to saffron in the last few days, the BJP claims. It says that the unprecedented cross-over has happened due to the "increasing popularity" of Narendra Modi, the party's prime ministerial candidate.
"Many are joining the BJP because the CPI(M) has deviated from its original values," said BJP state president Muralidharan.
The party is showcasing as evidence of the exodus, prominent local leaders like Krishnakumar, who has held several key posts in the CPI(M) for past several years. Mr Krishnakumar accuses state CPI(M) leaders of not doing enough for Kerala.
The BJP is a minor player in Kerala politics, with a mere six per cent vote-share and no legislator in the 140-member state Assembly. It says the tide is now turning, especially after Mr Modi's rally in Thiruvananthapuram last Sunday, which was attended by more than one and a half lakh BJP supporters from across the state .
Mr Modi wooed Kerala during his much-hyped 'chai pe charcha' on Wednesday. "I can see Thiruvananthapuram from here," he said, and also answered a question on black money posed from a tea stall in the state capital, one of 32 chosen in Kerala for Mr Modi's discussion relayed live to 1000 tea stalls in the country.
Ravi Muralidharan an engineering student said at the Thiruvananthapuram tea stall, "I am a Modi supporter and have come here to see how he interacts with people."
Not so fast, says the Left.
In Kannur, which has witnessed many bitter clashes between the two political parties, the CPI(M) claims that about 2000 BJP workers have joined them.
"There are thousands of BJP, popular front, and Muslim league supporters who are joining the CPI(M) because they cannot carry on with the religious intolerance and undemocratic style of functioning of their parent parties," K Rajesh, a local CPI leader said.