Kochi: The recent decision to form a state-level committee of NDA in Kerala is seen as a deft move by the central BJP leadership, based on the realisation that a broad alliance of various communities and outfits is essential for the saffron force to move forward in a state dominated by coalitions led by CPI(M) and Congress for decade.
BJP strategists will also try to woo minority Christian community-dominated Kerala Congress(M), which has snapped its more than three-decade old ties with the Congress-led UDF.
"Our aim is to make NDA effective in Kerala. We had been carrying out political work as BJP in the state so far. Now the time is ripe to constitute a broad NDA alliance involving all sections of society," senior BJP leader V Muraleedharan said.
Claiming that people of Kerala are "fed up" with the politics and policies of LDF led by CPI(M) and Congress-led UDF, he told PTI that the BJP-led NDA is the only viable alternative force in the state to take on both the fronts.
Asked if they would welcome parties like KC-M in the NDA fold, he said the coalition's doors are open to parties willing to work for Kerala's total development and welfare of its people. "We do not believe in political untouchability," he said.
BJP decided to form NDA at an all-party meeting with which it had made tie-ups for the May 16 Assembly polls.
BJP national president Amit Shah chaired the meeting at Kozhikode on Monday, a day after concluding the BJP's national council meeting, attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
It elected BJP state president Kummanam Rajasekharan as NDA chairman and BDJS president Thushar Vellappally as the convener.
BDJS is the political offshoot of SNDP Yogam, an outfit of the numerically strong Hindu Eazhava community in Kerala.
In a bid to send positive vibes to Christian minorities in the state, Kerala Congress president and former union minister P C Thomas was made state NDA's representative in the alliance's national committee.
Enthused by the success of a huge rally organised by BJP in Kozhikode last week as part of it's national council meet, Muraleedharan said the next move is to shape NDA as a major force at various levels, including village, taluk and district.
"As part of strengthening our alliance, we will hold three major NDA conventions very soon. Based on the decisions to be arrived at these conventions, we will organise NDA conventions at booth, panchayat, taluk and district levels," said Muraleedharan, who is also ex-president of BJP's Kerala unit.
Leader of a key NDA ally in Kerala, JSS, Ranjan Babu, said he was happy to be part of the BJP-led alliance as the Union government has a meaningful vision of development.
"The NDA government at the Centre understands sentiments of the backward sections of society, including Dalits, tribals and backwards. The government has assured us that it would not touch the reservation issues.
"The actions of BJP-led government reveal it is committed to uphold values in Indian polity and ensure gender equality in our society," said Babu, who till recently worked alongside Kerala's revolutionary icon K R Gowriyamma.
