'Kerala is as much mine as Varanasi': PM Modi after visiting Guruvayur temple

Bengaluru: Prime Minister Narendra Modi may have raised eyebrows by picking Kerala as his first stop to thank voters for the Bharatiya Janata Party's or BJP's massive victory in the Lok Sabha elections. Kerala is the only majorly populated state where the BJP drew a blank in this election, as has been the party's fate forever in the state. After a short visit to Kerala's iconic Guruvayur temple in Thrissur district on Saturday, Modi explained the reason.

“The BJP drew blank in Kerala, you may ask why Modi selected Kerala for his first political speech. Kerala is as important as Varanasi,” said Modi.

"We believe that elections have a place of their own but after elections the more important responsibility is towards the 130 crore citizens. Those who made us win are ours, those who did not make us win are also ours. Kerala is as much mine as is Varanasi," he said at a meeting of mostly BJP workers called ‘Abinandan Sabha’. This was the first public address of the prime minister after his trip to thank the people in his constituency, Varanasi.

"BJP workers are on the ground not only for electoral politics but they serve people 365 days a year. We have not come inti politics only to form a government but we are here to build the nation, we have come for the 'tapasya (meditation)' to see that India gets its rightful place in the world," said Modi.

"People choose their 'jan pratinidhi' (public representatives) for 5 years but we are 'jan sevak (public workers)' who are committed to serving the people, life long," he said. "Be it Udupi, Guruvayur or Dwarkadhish, for us - the people of Gujarat, there is an emotional connect. Coming from Gujarat, the land of Dwarkadhish, gives one a special feeling."

He also spoke about the Nipah virus scare in Kerala, and requested the public to not panic. “ The government is with the people. State and Centre will work together to fight the Nipah virus spread. The Centre is closely monitoring the situation. Do not panic,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Modi prayed at the Guruvayur temple, one of the most famous temples in Kerala, and performed the ritual of 'Thulabaram', where he was weighed against hundreds of lotuses, which will then be offered to the temple's main deity, Krishna, as an offering. He was joined by Kerala governor P Sathasivam and top Kerala BJP leader and union minister of state for external affairs, V Muraleedharan.

Rahul Gandhi: Modi "uses poison" to win election

On Saturday, coincidentally, Modi's main opponent in the national elections, Congress president Rahul Gandhi, was also in Kerala, doing roadshows and thanking people across his constituency Wayanad.

This is Gandhi's first visit to the state after the stunning performance of the Congress in Kerala—it swept 19 out of the total 20 Lok Sabha seats—in sharp contrast to the major setback it received across the country in the election. Gandhi also received a major setback in the election by losing from his traditional seat, Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, but won from Wayanad in a thumping majority of over four lakh votes.

During a roadshow, Gandhi alleged Modi uses poison to win the election. "At the national level we're fighting poison. Mr Narendra Modi uses poison, I'm using a strong word but Mr Narendra Modi uses poison of hatred to divide this country. He uses anger and hatred to divide the people of this country. He uses lies to win election," said Gandhi.

"He represents the worst sentiments of this country. He represents anger, he represents hatred, he represents insecurity and he represents lies."