Thiruvananthapuram | Union Minister Suresh Gopi has called for a stronger presence of NDA in the Kerala Assembly, saying the coalition should have at least 25-30 MLAs after the April 9 Assembly poll.

He alleged that both the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) had failed the people on key issues, including the alleged gold loss case at the Sabarimala Temple.

Addressing an election campaign event here on Friday, Gopi said the absence of strong leaders in the Assembly had resulted in a lack of effective intervention on matters concerning devotees.

He asserted that if prominent BJP leaders such as Sobha Surendran, Kummanam Rajasekharan, V Muraleedharan and K Surendran were present in the Assembly, the situation would have been different.

There is currently no one in the Assembly to effectively raise issues such as recovering the gold allegedly lost from Sabarimala, he said.

The BJP leader urged voters to ensure the election of a strong NDA bloc capable of safeguarding the interests of all sections of society, including people of faith.

He said such a presence would also compel the ruling dispensation to function in a more people-centric manner.

Gopi further said that the NDA, under the leadership of state BJP chief Rajeev Chandrasekhar, should emerge as a decisive force in the Assembly, reiterating his appeal for a minimum of 25-30 members from the alliance.

The BJP has so far announced 86 candidates in various constituencies in the state for the April 9 Assembly polls.