Eyeing Kerala expansion, BJP set to rejig state unit, step up Christian reconnect

The demand for an overhaul of the Kerala BJP has been raised from within the state party unit since the outcome of the 2021 Assembly polls that saw the party’s vote share fall to 11.53 per cent from 16 per cent in the 2016 polls. However, the BJP central leadership has not been able to effect major changes in the rift-ridden state unit even as it appointed ex-Union minister Javadekar as the new state in-charge and Rajya Sabha MP Radha Mohan Agarwal as the co-in charge in September last year.

With the BJP leadership scaling up its preparations for the 2024 Look Sabha elections and going to review it at their national executive meeting, scheduled for January 16 -17 in Delhi, both Javadekar and Agarwal have been visiting Kerala frequently to hold consultations with state leaders at various levels to take stock of their preparedness, sources said.

As Javadekar put to rest speculation about Surendran’s imminent removal, the latter said “false news” in this regard were spread “by those who are afraid of BJP”.

But BJP sources made it clear that the leadership wants the state leadership to be “aggressive, tech-savvy and visible”. “The party is happy with its Tamil Nadu experiment, where a young and active leader, former IPS officer Annamalai, a lateral entrant, is leading the party and making an impact. But for Kerala, we have to finalise a strategy and the leadership that are suitable for its character and demography,” said a source.

As the state of affairs in the Kerala BJP is perceived to be “disappointing”, the leadership has been pushing the state unit to mount a fresh exercise to reach out to various communities, especially Christians, whose outcome has been “encouraging”, said a party leader. “It was Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi who suggested that the party has to reach out to new communities and specifically mentioned that the BJP should change its approach to the Christian community in Kerala, and the party is willing to explore the possibilities of working together with the community,” added the leader.

The Christian leaders have however often pointed out that the BJP has to ensure safety and security of the community and its institutions that have come under attack from right wing forces in several party-ruled states.

With the saffron party seeking to step up its bid to reconnect with the Christian community, John Barla, Minister of State for Minority Affairs, recently had multiple interactions with the Church leaders in Kerala, even as he also attended the famous Buon Natale, a Christmas festival in Thrissur, a Catholic stronghold, in the state, sources said. During the Christmas festival, the state leaders were asked to reach out to the Christian community to “familiarise them with the BJP and the central government’s various initiatives”.

Union minister and ex-NDA vice chairman for Kerala, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, has been visiting the state frequently to interact with youngsters and students in the Christian-dominated areas. He interacted with over 1,000 students from 20 colleges of Kerala in an event organised under the initiative, “New India for Young India – Techade of Opportunities”, in the campus of Catholic Bishop House at Thamarassery.

Chandrasekhar was also present when the Catholics Bishops Conference of India (CBCI)’s newly-elected president Bishop Mar Andrews Thazhath met PM Modi in December in his Parliament House office to seek the Centre’s support in inviting Pope Francis to India. Modi had invited the Pope to visit India when he met the latter at the Vatican during his visit there in October 2021, which the BJP had aggressively highlighted in order to warm up to the community.

Although the BJP’s earlier attempts to woo Christians did not yield much dividends in Kerala, the party is now also trying to capitalise on perceived disenchantment among the Christian leaders over the growing influence of Muslims in the Congress-led UDF in the state.

The third largest religious community in Kerala after Hindus and Muslims, Christians could be a “prospective support base” for the BJP, said a party leader. Pointing to the party’s experience in Goa and the Northeastern states, where it managed to garner the Christian votes to win the polls, a BJP section has been pushing the party to work on this model and reach out to the community afresh in other states like Kerala.

A Kerala BJP leader pointed out that the party had won two Lok Sabha seats in 2004 from the region — from Lakshadweep and Muvattupuzha (now Kottayam) – with the support of minorities. While Lakshadweep is a Muslim-dominated constituency, Muvattupuzha has a sizeable Christian population. “In the 2004 general elections, in the Kerala region the NDA got 13 per cent votes, which rose to over 15 per cent in 2019. In both the polls, a section of Christian community backed the NDA candidates,” the leader said.