Kerala is one such state where BJP has not been able to make electoral gains. Prime Minister Narendra Modi Said on March 2 that a BJP-led government would come to power in Kerala, like in the northeastern states and Goa. His words have rejuvenated BJP workers, and one can see the drastic activities by BJP workers including reaching out to Christians on Easter and inviting them to their homes on ‘Vishu’.
Thalassery’s archbishop Mar Joseph Pampleyni’s statement that if the central government raised the price of rubber to Rs 300, he would vote for the BJP because the upper-class farmers were suffering.
Why should BJP have the support of a minority community?
The demography of Kerala shows that the state has about 54% Hindus, 26% Muslims and 18% Christians. Hindus have traditionally voted for the Congress-led UDF and the CPIM-led LDF. Though BJP has been able to get some percentage of votes from Hindus, it is difficult for them to get their full support. Therefore, it is important for the BJP to have the support of at least one minority community.
Most Christians have supported the Congress electorally, but with former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy unwell and inactive, there is a dearth of leaders who can reach out to the community. The late KM Mani, former Finance Minister of Kerala, was also a leader with large roots within the Christian community. Mani was in the UDF, but after his demise in April 2019, the Kerala Congress (M) is led by his son Jose K Mani, who is part of the LDF since 2020. The BJP hopes to take advantage of all these aspects.
The BJP believes that the statement of the Archbishop Cardinal has helped them. People holding such positions in the Church openly saying that they see all fronts equally, this has boosted the confidence of the BJP. He believes that earlier BJP was not even seen as an option but now the scenario is changing. Both the LDF and the Congress are discussing the issue, and so is the Kerala society.
The BJP has started its outreach a year ahead of the 2024 general elections. He has five Lok Sabha constituencies in mind—Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur, Pathanamthitta, Attingal and Mavelikkara—with sizeable Christian populations. According to BJP, the Christian population in these constituencies is 20% to 30% and if they are able to take advantage of this, it will give them electoral advantage. In Thiruvananthapuram, the BJP candidate defeated Shashi Tharoor of the Congress with a majority of about 15,000 votes the last two times.
Johnny Nellore, who was with the Kerala Congress (JOSEPH) faction, resigned as the party’s vice-president and secretary of the UDF and said he would form a new secular national party. Johnny Nellore has also talked about the farmers, especially the rubber farmers, while announcing his resignation. This new party will have people from the Christian community and reports are coming that it will support the NDA. It aims to reach out to the Kerala Congress groups, which are currently aligned with the LDF and the UDF.
Both the CPIM and the Congress have started retaliating right from the time the BJP began its outreach to the Christian community. Both have claimed that the BJP’s campaign is “hypocritical” as the party is allegedly attacking Christians and their places of worship in other states. He also pointed out how the priests approached the Supreme Court against “minority attacks”.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan also took a jibe at this. The CM had said, ‘The attack on Christians happened outside Kerala. They could not choose that line here (Kerala) because the Sangh Parivar has a special affinity for minorities. But here if you take a communal stand and try to create a communal clash, the government will take strong action.”
Leader of the Opposition VD Satheesan had said that even though BJP leaders are visiting Christian homes in Kerala, a minister in neighboring Karnataka has said that Christians should be thrashed if they come to their homes as they are trying to convert. are coming
Has BJP succeeded in making inroads in the community?
They have been successful in creating an impression that the BJP is not untouchable. They have been successful in keeping the discussions alive on their outreach.
Shaiju Antony, PRO of Latti Movement, said that outreach is election engineering of BJP. Even when the elections are nearing in Karnataka, they are doing this campaign in Kerala and not in Karnataka because it was a bishop from Karnataka who approached the court against the atrocities on Christians.
Shaiju Antony said, “After all these visits, we have not heard BJP condemning atrocities against Christians. All the places where Christians are in minority, they are using ‘ghar wapsi’ as a weapon. There are few takers for this outreach especially some clergy but they have not been able to make a difference among the common people. Some may also support because of cases against them.
There are many in the Christian community, even in the clergy, who feel that there is a lot of propaganda around the BJP’s outreach drive, but there is hardly any positive response. Many feel that real issues are not being discussed.
J Prabhash, political analyst and former HOD, Political Science, University of Kerala, said that through the priest, the BJP is aiming to win over factions of the Kerala Congress. “BJP is looking at it from a long term perspective. If the clergy stand in support of the BJP, it will make it easier for Kerala Congress groups to side with the BJP. They have been successful in keeping the theme alive and untouchability is no longer a factor.
Reaching out to the Christian community is not an easy task and will yield results soon but BJP is planning carefully. So far, they have been successful in creating the impression that the BJP is no longer an untouchable. But even now the common man of the community is not supporting BJP. This is what they want to change and there is a long road ahead.
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