PM Modi’s Kerala Visit: BJP playing ball with Christians is a win-win game

After Modi’s statement, several priests and church administrators lent open support to BJP, while some offered conditional support on their terms. (File image)

“I am confident that in the coming years, as it has happened in Nagaland, Meghalaya and Goa over time, a BJP-led government will come to power in Kerala too,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi in early March, while addressing supporters at the party headquarters in New Delhi, after winning the Assembly polls in the Northeastern states.

If there’s one statement that was solely responsible for the national attention Modi’s latest Kerala visit has gained, it is this.

The mention of three states, where the most significant chunk of Christians favoured BJP alliances, revealed in no unclear terms that the party was trying to woo the Christian community in Kerala too. Traditionally, Christians in Kerala throw in their lot with the Congress or the Kerala Congress, a party of farmers.

Steady Groundswell Preceding Modi

But with the Congress rendered powerless at both the Centre and the State, and the various factions of the Kerala Congress marginalised, both in government and in the Opposition, BJP has become the only avenue left open to them. Modi’s statement was a clarion call to them.

It is for this reason that several priests and church administrators lent open support to BJP, while some offered conditional support on their terms. Apart from the time the controversial Narcotic Jihad discussion was on, such support goes against convention as BJP is portrayed as a party that tunes out minority sentiments. Amid the political turmoil that ensued, several other priests and organisations climbed on the bandwagon.

If it was Union minister V Muraleedharan’s turn to visit the Latin Diocese Bishop House in Thiruvananthapuram on Easter, a week before Modi’s visit to Kerala, it was John Barla, the Union minister of state for minority affairs, who turned up at the headquarters of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church in Ernakulam. He reiterated that Christians were safe under the Modi Government, and the geniality was reciprocated by Major Archbishop Mar George Alancherry. Clearly, synergies were building.

Optics Of The Modi Visit

For onlookers, Modi’s meeting with Christian leaders lasted only a few minutes and he addressed eight bishops from various denominations collectively. But Cardinal Alancherry declared the meeting a success and announced that the Prime Minister gave an assurance to protect the community. Quietly, the state polity is waking up to mull sedately over BJP’s short-term and long-term prospects ahead of the Parliament and Assembly polls respectively.

The Christian connect was one among three key elements of Modi’s visit. The second was Yuvam, the much-hyped interaction with the youth in Kochi, which petered out as there was no interaction at all. Portraying Anil K Antony as a precursor to youngsters flocking to the party, BJP leaders had announced Modi would interact with the youth. But the youth had to be content with Modi’s roadshow and political speech.

The third – giving a development thrust, especially in transportation – went by plan. The flagging off of Kerala’s first Vande Bharat Express, perceived widely as a viable alternative to the State’s contentious K-Rail SilverLine, was received well by the public. The buzz went up with the Railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw’s promise to increase the train’s speed and coverage.

BJP’s 2024 Campaign Takes Off

Will Modi’s outreach to the youth and minorities over development and safety assurance work to his party’s advantage?

Although it’s apparent the outreach has rattled all other political camps alike, it’s too early to take stock of BJP’s prospects. On paper, a political alliance with Christians over religious matters offers a win-win situation all around. While the immediate litmus test could be the Parliament polls next year, a more realistic long-term goal will be to gain significantly in the 2026 Assembly polls.

While other parties will try to perpetuate the “hatemonger” stamp on BJP, everything will ultimately depend on the BJP’s own plans to continually keep the Christians in good humour and build on their current upsurge of interest in the party. It will need to find solutions to their pressing problems such as legal disputes among various denominations, demand for protection from religious attacks, increased minimum support price for crops, prospects of anti-conversion laws, extension of reservation to Dalit Christians, increased share in minority benefits, and concerns over foreign funding.

In a sense, Modi has kickstarted the poll campaign in Kerala a year in advance. The agenda is set. Only time will tell whether it will transpire into a political success or an abject failure. But one thing is for sure – the coming months will force both the Congress and the CPI(M) to view BJP more soberly. Else, it will be on their conscience later that they did not take the admonition seriously and sported a supine attitude.

Sreejith Panickar is a Kerala-based political commentator. Twitter: @PanickarS. Views are personal and do not represent the stand of this publication.