Amid hustle-bustle, BJP quietly reaches out to ‘miracle performing’ pastors

On the last day of the election campaign in Punjab on Thursday, Ferozpur BJP candidate Rana Gurmeet Singh Sodhi met pastor Ankur Narula, who is known for allegedly performing ‘miracles’ and faces allegations of forced conversion from Sikh and Hindu bodies. The Income Tax (I-T) department had conducted raids on the premises linked to Narula in April 2023, just before the by-election for the Jalandhar Lok Sabha seat.

Taking leave for a few hours from his campaign, BJP’s Gurdaspur candidate Dinesh Singh Babbu went to Chandigarh to attend a congregation of pastor Bajinder, who too “performs miracles” and attracts big crowds.

The I-T department raided Bajinder on February 1, 2023. Thomas Masih, BJP Minority Morcha state president, sought votes for Babbu from the stage of pastor Bajinder. Babbu held 10 meetings exclusively for Christian communities in different parts of Gurdaspur as part of his campaign.

Retired diplomat and BJP’s Amritsar candidate Taranjit Singh Sandhu, leaving no stone unturned for every single vote, too attended a congregation of pastor Bajinder in Ajnala on April 30. Sandhu also shared his picture with the Pope on Facebook on March 31. Gurdaspur, Amritsar, and Ferozpur seats have considerable Christian voters who can be crucial in multi-corner contests.

“Earlier Shiromani Akali Dal, as an alliance partner, was taking care of the Christian vote bank in Gurdaspur. Former SAD leaders like Sucha Singh Langah had deep connection with the community and they would transfer such votes to BJP candidates. But now it is the first time that the BJP is directly approaching Christian voters,” said Thomas Masih.

There was also a controversy when BJP Ajnala leader and former MLA Amarpal Singh Boni made a statement on the Sikh religion in the presence of Taranjit Sandhu, when both went for the ‘Amritsar Crusade’ event of Bajinder. Later, Boni issued a clarification on his statement.

Amid the controversy, Akali Dal maintained silence hoping that the inroads it made into the Christian community during its 10-year government in the state would work for the party in this election. The 12-member sub-committee formed by the SAD to introspect on the results of the 2022 Punjab Assembly polls had noted with concern the political implications of the failure of SGPC, the body that controls gurdwaras, “in stopping the religious conversions of Sikhs into other faiths.”

SAD pushed the observations under the carpet and moved on. The party’s Gurdaspur candidate Diljit Singh Cheema has been attacking Congress candidate and former minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa for allegedly making derogatory comments about Christian women in a viral audio.

The Congress, it is said, is afraid that the alleged audio may hurt Christian voters, who have remained a traditional choice for the party until the SAD, Aam Aadmi Party, and now the BJP started seeking their share. The Congress, sources said, is hoping that the Christian vote bank will stand behind the party in this election for the ‘secular agenda of INDIA bloc.’

“The BJP might be making efforts and some self-styled pastors may join them but Christians won’t vote for the BJP as Prime Minister Narendra Modi didn’t utter a single word on the violence that occurred in Manipur and Mizoram,” said Bir Masih Sahota, vice-chairman, Punjab Congress Committee (Minorities).

Bir Masih, however, is worried about the AAP making inroads in the Christian vote bank. Asked whether the AAP government’s action against Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh would win some votes for its candidate Amansher Singh Kalsi, he said, “There may be an impact as the community was satisfied with the action taken to maintain law and order in the state.”

A section of the Christian Community had protested against Amritpal Singh as he spoke offensively at a religious convention before his
arrest.

“Some Christian voters are also happy with the AAP due to free electricity,” said Bir Masih, who is campaigning for the Congress.
There are three kinds of Christian votebank in the state. There are traditional Christians who have been here since the British came to India or converted through different churches.