The political atmosphere in Wayanad reached a boiling point on Saturday as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers staged a massive demonstration, waving black flags at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s convoy. The protest served as a direct “tit-for-tat” response to a series of provocative “shirtless protests” organized by Youth Congress workers earlier in the week, who had stripped down to highlight the rising costs of essential commodities and alleged central government neglect of the state’s agricultural sector. As Gandhi’s motorcade navigated through the Kalpetta region, BJP supporters breached the security perimeter to chant slogans and display black banners, accusing the Wayanad MP of neglecting his constituency while his party supporters engaged in “indecent and theatrical” modes of protest. The local police were forced to intervene, forming a human chain to prevent a physical confrontation between the rival party cadres, as Congress workers quickly mobilized to form a protective shield around their leader’s vehicle.
The escalation of these protests comes amid a highly charged pre-election environment, where the visual language of political dissent has turned increasingly confrontational. BJP state leadership defended the black flag demonstration, stating that the Congress party’s recent shirtless displays were a “mockery of democratic traditions” and that the public’s frustration with the lack of local development was finally manifesting on the streets. Conversely, the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) condemned the BJP’s actions as a “desperate attempt to stifle the voice of the opposition,” arguing that the shirtless protests were a symbolic representation of the common man being “stripped of his dignity” by inflation. With both parties refusing to back down and promising further demonstrations, the district administration has imposed temporary restrictions on large gatherings to prevent the situation from spiraling into further civil unrest.
