Rajeev Chandrasekhar was hand-picked by the BJP President Amit Shah to lead the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Kerala as its Vice Chairman on 26th September 2016.
Rajeev believes that politics in Kerala needs a transformation that is capable of unleashing the state’s full potential. And that an alternative political front based on equitable development for all including the many lakhs of downtrodden as well as opportunities for the youth is the need of the hour. The NDA, with its rapidly growing vote share and popularity he feels, is that alternative.
With his ancestral roots in Kerala, he has in this short period, taken up many critical issues within the state and also helped to address grievances of many Keralites living outside the state.
Rajeev has brought the National focus on one of the most burning issues in Kerala - the rise in political violence. He believes political violence is not just lives and disrupting families – it has a big impact on private and public investments into the state and highlighted that investors don’t want to invest and create jobs in a state that is being perceived as state sponsor of Political violence with no heed or respect for law or individual rights and liberty.
Rajeev has persistently demanded de-politicization of Police in the state and urged the State Government to take the initiative – and start getting the police to enforce the law instead of being complicit in law breaking or ignoring the law.
One of the more serious issues Rajeev has raised is the radicalization of youth and ISIS growth in Kerala stating that it is tragic for a state that has had a long record of Communal harmony and inter-faith relations to be rushing headlong into a sharp deterioration of the same due to the politics that is giving a go-by to law enforcement for the sake of communal politics.
Another area in focus of Rajeev’s work has been the protection of the eco-sensitive zone of Munnar. He raised the Munnar issue in the Parliament and highlighted the extensive encroachments of forest land and illegal constructions by the political-business-bureaucratic mafia going on for decades. He continues to pursue the issue and is determined to ensure all encroachments and illegal constructions in Munnar, Pallivasal and CHR are evicted in a time-bounded manner under FC Act and culprits including politicians involved are held to account.
Rajeev has taken up other significant issues like education and pay structure of Nurses and sought the status of implementation of MCI recommendations to raise the salary of nurses working in private hospitals at par with those of nurses in government hospitals across the nation in Parliament. He also actively pursued the case of a Keralite missing in Kuwait and ensured his safe return home and brought attention to the rising cases in vector-borne diseases in Kerala.
Rajeev has voiced his concern over the state of economy and employment in Kerala – the political violence, radicalisation, and spread of ISIS and lack of reforms in education all have caused global investors to refuse to even consider Kerala as a destination and this driven away investors from the state and prevented job opportunities for the youth.
Rajeev continues to raise these important issues that impact Kerala within and outside Parliament, in the media and with the public.
