Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], April 8 (ANI): Telangana BJP president N Ramchander Rao on Wednesday called the ongoing spat between Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and his Keralam counterpart Pinarayi Vijayan 'shadow boxing' as Congress-led UDF and CPI(M)-led LDF lock horns in the 2026 Keralam Assembly elections.

Speaking to ANI, Ramchander Rao pointed out that the Congress is in alliance with the CPI(M) and CPI in Telangana.

'The Chief Minister of Telangana, Revanth Reddy, has campaigned there and has made a lot of allegations against the BJP as if the BJP and the LDF are having an understanding. The language which he's using there is definitely shadow boxing with LDF. In Telangana, the Congress and then the Left Front, the CPI and CPM are in alliance, and they both support each other. The fight between the LDF and UDF is only a shadow boxing because they want to stall the BJP's growth in Keralam,' the BJP leader said.

This comes after Telangana CM Revanth Reddy and Keralam CM Pinarayi Vijayan indulged in a spat online. The controversy began on April 3, when Reddy declared that the 'dark era' in Keralam was coming to an end and a 'golden era' under the United Democratic Front (UDF) was set to begin.

Responding to Reddy, Vijayan, on April 4, called his remarks 'disparaging' against Keralam, terming them as 'entirely baseless' and suggesting that the Telangana Chief Minister should focus on his own state's shortcomings in poverty and literacy.

Reddy defended the Congress government in Telangana, noting that the NITI Aayog SDG Index 2023-24 cited by Vijayan 'captured the tail-end of a decade of BRS-BJP misrule.'

The controversy took an ugly turn when asserted that Vijayan's 'expiry date is over' and claimed that the CPI(M) leader's 'godfather', Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was protecting him from ongoing legal cases. While Vijayan on Tuesday made an acerbic jab at Telangana counterpart, borrowing from the popular Malayalam cinema dialogue 'Po Mone Dinesha', a condescending phrase, implying that the person is not worth the speaker's time.

The Keralam CM is aiming for a historic third consecutive win in the Assembly elections, while the Congress-led UDF is backing the anti-incumbency factor to win the polls. Polling to elect 140 MLAs for the Kerala Assembly is set for April 9, and counting of votes will take place on May 4. (ANI)