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Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day Kerala visit beginning Monday will be marked by the inauguration or foundation stone laying of various major development projects, road show, a youth conclave and a meeting with a slew of bishops from various Christian Churches.
The PM’s Kerala visit assumes political significance as it comes at a time when the BJP has been making all-out attempts to expand its base in the state ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls by highlighting the Modi-led party’s government’s development agenda at the Centre.
The recent formation of a new Christian party by disgruntled leaders of various splinter outfits of the regional Christian party, Kerala Congress, and the new warmth between the Catholic Church and the Sangh Parivar have rekindled the BJP’s electoral hopes in the state, where the party has not been able to expand its footprint despite having made massive efforts in this regard for years.
Buoyed by the PM’s visit, the BJP’s Kerala unit has also started a hashtag campaign “Keralamawaitsmodi” on social media.
After his arrival in Kochi on Monday evening, PM Modi will hold a road show for a 1.8 km-long stretch, which would end at the Sacred Heart College ground at Thevara, where the PM would interact with youths at the YUVAM conclave being organised by Vibrant Youth for Modifying Kerala, a voluntary organisation of youth dedicated to working for acceleration of the process of all-inclusive and sustainable development of India in social, economic, political and cultural fields.
YUVAM is being organised as part of the Y20 India Summit.
The BJP has claimed that about 1.5 lakh youth, aged between 17 and 35, have already registered their names for YUVAM. In the interactive youth conclave, the PM would answer the questions posed by a cross-section of youths on various issues including Kerala’s development.
Modi’s YUVAM function has created ripples in state politics, with both the ruling CPI(M) and the principal Opposition Congress coming up with their own events as its counter. The CPI(M)’s youth wing DYFI is organising the Young India campaign — 100 questions for the PM, which would raise various issues — which would be held at various districts beginning Sunday. The Congress is also planning a mega youth conclave in Kochi next month in which party leader Rahul Gandhi will take part.
After addressing YUVAM, Modi is going to meet the heads of Kerala’s various Christian denominations, who will include Cardinal George Alencherry of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, Cardinal Clemis of the Syro-Malankara Church, Latin Catholic Church archbishop Joseph Kalathiparambil, and five other senior bishops of other denominations.
Modi’s meeting with these bishops is taking place at a time when a section of the Church has made a promise to support the BJP in the elections if the Union government steps in to raise the prices of natural rubber, which has been a mainstay of farmers’ income in Central Kerala, where a sizeable section of people belong to the Christian community.
The BJP has also firmed up a variety of programmes for its outreach to the Christian community, especially Catholic Christians which are numerically its larger segment.
On Tuesday, Modi will fly to Thiruvananthapuram, where he is scheduled to flag off Kerala’s first Vande Bharat Express between Thiruvananthapuram and Kasargod at Thiruvananthapuram Central Station.
The BJP is showcasing the introduction of the Vande Bharat service for Kerala rail commuters, framing it as the Centre’s answer to the CPI(M)-led state government’s demand for semi-high speed rail corridor, Silverline. The BJP claims that the Vande Bharat Express demonstrates its commitment to Kerala’s development.
In Thiruvananthapuram Modi would also dedicate the Kochi Water Metro to the nation, a first-of-its-kind public boat service integrated with a metro rail network.
Modi will also lay the foundation stone for the country’s first Digital Science Park in Thiruvananthapuram. The Rs 1,500 crore project, focusing on digital technologies, is envisaged to help Kerala transform into a knowledge-based economy.
Meanwhile, former Kerala Congress (Joseph) leader and convener of the Congress party-led UDF in Pathanamthitta district, Victor T Thomas, joined the BJP in Kochi Sunday. Welcoming Thomas to the saffron party fold, state BJP president K Surendran said, “The BJP is getting good support from the Christian community and it would get another boost after Modi meets the Christian leaders during his Kochi visit.’’
On Saturday, a few Christian leaders, who had been part of various splinter groups of the regional Christian party, Kerala Congress, floated a new outfit called National Progressive Party (NPP).
The former Kerala Congress (Joseph) vice-chairman and three-time legislator, Johny Nelloor, is the working chairman of the NPP, which would work as a bridge between the Christian community and the BJP although the party has denied its affiliation to any political front in the state.
