Kerala CM Vijayan Confident of Bigger Win in 2026, Hits Out at Centre

Vijayan said there is no anti-incumbency in the state, adding that the people hold a positive view of the government and its policies and believe only the current administration can take Kerala forward.

"There is no anti incumbency in the state. Travel anywhere in the state and tell me if there is anti incumbency. People have good views of the government and our policy. They have a strong view that only we can take the state forward. In 2026, we will more seats than in 2021," Vijayan said at the NDTV Keralam Power Play summit.

He also highlighted that his government has repeatedly sought better relations with the Centre but alleged that Kerala has often been treated unfairly. Referring to the 2018 disaster, Vijayan said the state had requested assistance but did not receive adequate support from the Centre. He recalled that when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat, Kerala had extended help to Gujarat during natural calamities.

"We are a state. We tried to have better relations with the centre, always, at every step. Kerala has always got a bad treatment from the centre. In 2018, the state was hit by a major disaster. We wanted help. PM came to tour, we expected help. We didn't receive help. Other states came forward to help us. They also informed the centre about our need. Centre said we never asked for help. When PM Narendra Modi was CM, other states, including Kerala, helped Gujarat in natural calamity. But when Kerala needed help, it never received one," Vijayan said.

On governance and development, Vijayan said he is leading the party for elections and denied being a "supreme leader", saying "the party decides what is going to be done". He added that despite repeated appeals since 2016, his government has not received due consideration from the Centre on developmental issues, including setting up an AIIMS facility in the state.

"You cannot say that I am the supreme leader. No, the party decides what is going to be done. The party decide the details. I am taking leadership for elections. In our states, to run developmental projects, we need help from Centre as well. Actually, we didn't receive the due consideration from the centre, and justice was not done. Due to lack of fund, we decided to borrow money from outside, and the centre even tried to block that also and put in measures to stop us from taking loans from outside the country. Since 2016, we have been approaching central government for help. Do you think that a state like Kerala does not deserve to have a facility like AIIMS? Every year, we keep approaching the centre. Till now, we have not got it," the Chief Minister said at the NDTV Keralam Power Play summit.

Recounting progress since coming to power in 2016, Vijayan said the state was in "dire crisis" with the education sector "on the back foot" and many schools on the verge of closure. He added that the health sector also needed attention due to insufficient doctors and infrastructure, and that returning migrants felt "nothing has changed". He said his government introduced policies to address these issues.

"5 years back, in 2021. Till 2016, other coalition was ruling the state. When we came to power, the situation of the state was in dire crisis. Education sector was on the back foot. Many schools were on the verge of being shut down. Health sector was also in dire need of attention. No doctors, no infrastructure. Speciality of Kerala is that there are lakhs of people who are working outside the state. People who used to come back to their native place used to think that nothing has changed in their state. We were able to bring in policies in the state," he said.

On infrastructure, he said the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) was reluctant to implement highway projects in Kerala, citing high land costs, and alleged they stalled several developments. The state government decided to contribute 25 per cent of the total expenditure from the state treasury to keep the project on track. He also said the GAIL pipeline project, which was delayed, was intervened in by the state and completed successfully.

"National Highway per notification developed, we had to intervene to get the highway projects going on. The national highway authority was unwilling to help us, it build the highway. They were stating reasons like the high cost of land and other factors, and they all destroyed projects in Kerala. But we put a foot down and said no, and we decided to give 25% of the total expense for the national highway from the state treasury. Similarly, Gail Pipeline project was stuck. We did intervention to ensure that the project started moving, and it completed," Vijayan said.

- ANI