If at all more proof was required to establish that the Nava Keralam Citizens' Response Programme was a state-funded election campaign designed to bring the LDF back to power and not an exercise to collect governance-related suggestions from citizens, as claimed, there is Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's address to the district-level monitoring committee members of the Nava Keralam programme on October 22 last year.

The Chief Minister clearly lays down what should motivate this volunteer-driven programme. "Our objective is to raise Kerala's standards of life to that of the middle-income countries in the developed world. To achieve this, another term for us is inevitable. This should be in the minds of volunteers," he says in an audio clip of the October 22 speech.

"Why do we say that we should continue in power? Our gains should be protected. Our state should be taken to newer heights. For this, we should be given another term in office. Or else Kerala will slide back into non-performance. That's what history has taught us," the CM says in the audio clip.

He said Kerala could progress in a big way only because of the second term the LDF secured in 2021-22. "We need to progress even further. By 2031, substantial changes should take place in Kerala. Explain all this to people without getting provoked. There would be some who would create provocation but we should be careful not to fall into the trap," the CM said.

Remain calm and persuade people to vote for the LDF, was the message. "When you reach homes, people might express many doubts and opinions about the existing welfare and development programmes. You should not leave the house without addressing their concerns. We can provide a clear explanation for all the doubts they have," he said.

The audio clip has surfaced a day after the High Court quashed the government order issued in October 2025 to conduct the Nava Keralam Citizens' Response Programme. The Court, during the hearing, had also taken note of CPM state secretary M V Govindan's untimely letter to party cadres asking them to register with the 'Samoohya Sannadha Sena Portal' from which the volunteers for the Nava Keralam programme would be selected. 

Though the Nava Keralam order was issued only on October 10, Govindan had shot off his missive to cadres more than a fortnight before, on September 23.

Govindan's letter to party cadres to join the volunteer portal and now Pinarayi's speech to volunteers who were mostly CPM cadres reveal a clear pre-election strategic thinking on the part of the CPM.

The original plan was to create a volunteer force of 85,000 that would visit 85 lakh homes. Till now, only 6 lakh homes have been visited.