A sharp and unusually personal exchange between Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy has erupted into a full-blown public feud, blending governance critiques with cinematic taunts and crude retorts just days before Kerala’s Assembly elections.
What began as election campaign rhetoric has escalated into a formal ‘letter war,’ drawing criticism from across the political spectrum for lowering the standards of discourse between two non-BJP chief ministers.
The confrontation traces back to April 1, when Mr. Revanth Reddy, campaigning for the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala, addressed a roadshow in Thiruvananthapuram’s Nemom constituency. Borrowing a popular dialogue from the Mohanlal-starrer ‘Narasimham,’ Mr. Revanth tweaked the line ‘Nee po mone Dinesha’ into’Nee po mone Vijaya,’ telling the veteran CPI(M) leader – ‘Your time is over. Your expiry date is over… Now, the UDF’s time has come.’
He further accused Mr. Vijayan of modelling himself on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, claiming Mr. Modi was acting as the Kerala CM’s ‘godfather’ and shielding him from central agency probes while targeting opposition leaders.
The Telangana CM touted his state’s ‘fast-track’ development model, declaring an end to Kerala’s ‘dark era.’ Kerala CM initially dismissed the remarks as those of a ‘misinformed’ leader who was ‘ridiculing’ Kerala while ignoring his own state’s shortcomings.
The war of words intensified when Mr. Revanth Reddy followed up with a detailed six-page letter (and public statement) challenging Mr. Vijayan to an open debate. He criticised the Kerala government for relying on ‘outdated data’ from the NITI Aayog’s 2023-24 Sustainable Development Goals Index and accused it of selectively appropriating long-term social achievements while downplaying contributions from past Congress chief ministers like K. Karunakaran and Oommen Chandy.
Telangana CM reiterated the film dialogue and posed a pointed question: ‘Who is your role model — Narendra Modi and Amit Shah or Jyoti Basu and Somnath Chatterjee?’ On April 7, Mr. Vijayan hit back hard — both publicly and in writing. At a press conference in Kannur, the Kerala CM used a sharp, colloquial Malayalam retort: ‘Dash mone Revantha, Murpadi varunnund’ (roughly, “Revanh, my boy — the response is coming”), a phrase widely interpreted as crude and unbecoming of a chief minister.
He followed up with a formal letter to Mr. Revanth, expressing ‘strong disagreement’ over the use of ‘personally insulting remarks’ to settle political differences. Mr. Vijayan defended Kerala’s track record, highlighting landmark initiatives such as the 1957 land reforms, the 1987-91 literacy movement, the Ardram Mission for healthcare, and recent pushes in deep-tech, AI, and the Vizhinjam seaport. He rejected claims of industrial stagnation, noted that progress reports are published regularly, and emphasised that Kerala’s top SDG ranking reflects sustained, cross-government policies rather than short-term metrics.
Mr. Revanth Reddy, in response, chose not to escalate further with matching language. ‘Coming from a veteran leader, I take these remarks as a blessing,’ he said, while reiterating his readiness for a fact-based debate on development models.
The episode has sparked widespread condemnation. Senior Congress leaders, including those from Kerala, criticised CM Vijayan for setting a ‘wrong example’ with his choice of words. The BJP termed the entire spat
‘shadow boxing’ between the UDF and LDF as they battle for Kerala’s 140 Assembly seats (polling for which was held earlier this week, with results expected soon).