Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday accused Kerala’s ruling alliance Left Democratic Front and the Congress-led United Democratic Front of trying to polarise voters ahead of Assembly elections in the state, and claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party did not believe in the politics of polarisation, The Indian Express reported.

Singh made the remark in an interview to the newspaper, while responding to a question about the minorities not trusting the BJP. He added that the BJP’s politics was that of the common people.

The Union minister also claimed that the BJP now had a good vote share in Kerala. “And in this election, our votes will go up and we are expected to get a good number of seats here,” he told the newspaper.

Singh told The Indian Express that the BJP will gradually form a political coalition in Kerala. “So far it has been the LDF and UDF in Kerala, with these fronts coming to power alternatively,” he said. “But now, with its good governance at the Centre, the BJP has established a good track record. People see the fact that BJP-ruled states have good governance.”

The minister added that the BJP had become the symbol of a “neat and clean government”. “There are no major corruption charges against BJP governments, even the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. People have started feeling that only the BJP can provide it,” Singh told the newspaper. “This will help the party win the confidence of people in Kerala also.”

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Singh, while campaigning for the BJP in Thiruvananthapuram earlier on Sunday, also criticised the state government for its decision to launch a judicial inquiry against central agencies investigating gold and dollar smuggling cases in the state, PTI reported.

The decision was made at a Cabinet meeting on Friday. State ministers said at the meeting that the investigations were being diverted for political advantage, according to The Hindu.

The Union minister called this decision “unfortunate”. “This means the state government is challenging the federal structure of the Constitution,” he was quoted as saying by PTI. “This is 100% cent against the Constitution.”

The Kerala Assembly polls are scheduled to be held in a single phase on April 6. The counting of votes will take place on May 2.