Kerala industry minister P Rajeev defends LDF investment push
Kochi: Continuation of the Left government is necessary for the development of Kerala as the United Democratic Front (UDF) is not an alternative, said State Industries Minister P. Rajeev. Speaking to ThePrint in an interview in the backdrop of the Kerala Assembly polls, Rajeev said that two consecutive terms of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) has helped the state across different sectors, including its ease of doing business ranking and other infrastructural and sustainable index goals.
“What is the alternative? Because of this campaign, people are remembering their (UDF) period, the dark period of the state. Now they can compare UDF and LDF. All their parties and leaders are quarrelling among themselves for more opportunities. That is not beneficial for the state,” Rajeev said, adding that the deep-rooted presumption that Kerala is not investment-friendly is changing.
As per the 2024 Business Reforms Action Plan (BRAP) rankings by the union government, Kerala was ranked as a ‘top performer’ in the ease of doing business. Similarly, as per the 2023-34 NITI Aayog Sustainable Development Goals, Kerala retained the top rank with high performance in health, education, etc.
Amid the UDF’s and Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) constant criticism of outmigration of youngsters, Rajeev cited LinkedIn data and said around 40,000 Malayali professionals returned to Kerala between January and July 2025. He added that the state is creating more job opportunities, building a strong startup ecosystem and upskilling women who are out of the workforce which will lead to transformation.
Responding to the criticism that the LDF government revolves around Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Rajeev said that their leader is the ‘strength’ of the government and the Left Democratic Front, and they are working collectively, with ministers enjoying full freedom and responsibilities. He added the Supreme Court guideline allows using only pictures of the prime minister and chief ministers in government ads.
“Chief minister is the strength of the government. He is the strength of the Left Democratic Front. But we are working collectively. Chief minister is leading, but all ministers are enjoying full freedom while discharging their responsibilities as a minister in that particular portfolio,” he said.
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Communist-led state in a non-communist country
Created in 1957, Kerala saw unstable governments due to defections and splits until the 1980s, until the parties formed two coalitions, the Left-led LDF and Congress-led UDF, which led to largely stable and alternating governments. In 2021, the LDF made a record by retaining power, also increasing its tally from 91 to 99 seats. Eyeing a third term, the LDF this time is pitching the continuation of the welfare and development projects they have rolled out in the past 10 years, such as the aggressive push for private investments, widening of national highways, and other such projects. This has also, however, led to criticism of the party deviating from its core ideology.
Rajeev does not agree. “Communist ideology, this is not a communist country. We are working within the framework of the Constitution. In 1957, the first chief minister of Kerala invited Birla to establish big industries. What is the difference now? We are trying to attract more investment. But what is our motto? Nature, people, industry, not in reverse order. We are not promoting big polluting industries. We are promoting responsible investment and responsible industry,” he said.
On the UDF and BJP making temple protection a key issue in their manifestos following the Sabarimala controversy, Rajeev said the Sabarimala issues are under investigation and monitored by the high court. The minister went on to add that the Left government in Kerala is the only government in India taking a firm stand against the Union government’s ‘unilateral communal’ policies, highlighting the recently passed Nativity Card Bill, and being the first state to adopt a resolution against the Citizenship Amendment Act.
In February this year, the State Assembly passed the Kerala Nativity Card Bill 2026 which aims to replace nativity certificates obtained from tehsildars to certify a person’s origin. The state government maintains that the document will not confer citizenship, but the legislation was pitched as an answer to the Centre’s allegedly exclusionary approach towards the minority Muslim community through laws such as the Citizenship Amendment Act.
Rajeev added that there is an ongoing attempt to polarise Kerala society along religious and caste lines by the BJP, but the party was defeated in its lone sitting seat of Thiruvananthapuram’s Nemom in 2021. In 2016, BJP’s Rajagopal had won the seat, which has been the party’s lone victory in the Assembly polls. However, the BJP failed to retain it in 2021, as LDF’s Sivankutty wrested it back.
“There is an attempt. Kerala is not an isolated island. It is within the country and within the world. Right-wing extreme politics is strengthening across the world and in India. In other states, that kind of shift is happening. But we are trying our best to protect the secular credentials of the state,” Rajeev said.
(Edited by Nardeep Singh Dahiya)
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