Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala unit of BJP launched its outreach programme “Snehayatra” to woo the Christian community in the state ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
BJP state president K Surendran led a delegation to meet George Alanchery, Major Archbishop Emeritus of Syro Malabar Church, one of the biggest Christian denominations in Kerala, in Kochi on Thursday morning.
During the state-wide Snehayatra campaign from December 21 to January 31, BJP state and local level leaders will be visiting the headquarters of various Christian denominations and Christian houses across 14 districts.
"We are carrying Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Christmas and New Year message to churches, headquarters of various Christian denominations and all Christian homes in Kerala,” BJP state president K Surendran told the media after meeting Archbishop George Alanchery.
"There is no politics involved in the campaign. We are doing it to ensure communal amity, peace and brotherhood. The Archbishop asked us to spread Christ’s message of peace and harmony,” the BJP state president said.
The ruling CPM and opposition Congress are of the view that the BJP outreach campaign is not going to make much impact. Opposition leader V D Satheeshan said the people of Kerala, particularly the Christian community, are aware of the true face of the BJP.
BJP's second Christian outreach programme this year
This is the second time this year that the BJP has undertaken an outreach programme to cosy up to the Christians. In April BJP leaders undertook a similar exercise during Easter.
Soon after the Easter campaign, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Kochi and addressed a massive youth rally on
April 25. The most significant part of his Kochi visit was the meeting with heads of eight prominent Christian denominations.
Manipur crisis
The Manipur crisis in May came as a major setback for the BJP’s Christian outreach programme in Kerala. The attack on Christian churches evoked strong protests in the state with the Church suspecting the role of the BJP.
The BJP leaders, however, maintain that the Manipur crisis is not going to affect its campaign. “Congress raised the Manipur issue against BJP in a big way in the recent Mizoram elections. But the results proved that their campaign failed. The BJP doubled its seats and vote share while the Congress faced a drop in votes,” said Surendran.
The BJP believes that whether it is North East or Goa, people cutting across religion, caste or belief, those who have seen and experienced the BJP governments’ work and attitude, will wholeheartedly embrace the party. Therefore, they expect similar support from Christians in Kerala.
BJP eyeing Christians for electoral gains in Kerala
Christians constitute 18.38 per cent of the state’s 3.40 crore population, which is also the highest number for the community in any state.
The Christian population in Kerala is mainly concentrated in five districts in central parts of the state including Alappuzha, Kottayam, Idukki, Ernakulam and Pathanamthitta.
The Christian vote has the strength to influence results in at least 40 to 45 constituencies in these districts. Besides, it has a sizable presence in some of the constituencies in Thrissur, Kannur and Thiruvananthapuram districts.
The BJP has managed to secure a 20 to 30 per cent vote share in some of the constituencies in central Kerala. The party hopes to make big electoral gains if it manages to get a significant number of Christian votes.
BJP keen to expand electoral base
The BJP-led NDA performed well in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls securing 15.64 per cent votes, registering an increase of 2.78 percent compared to the previous poll.
But their vote share dropped to 11.03 per cent in the 2021 Assembly elections in which LDF created history by bucking the trend and becoming the first government to do a repeat since 1970. Compared to the 2016 assembly polls when the BJP secured 14.96 per cent votes with the help of BDJS, a party dominated by a section of the powerful backward Ezhava community, the party’s performance in 2021 was very dismal and it even lost its only seat to LDF.
