With its traditional power players having failed to offer good governance, Kerala, especially the State’s marginalised Hindu community, is looking for a viable alternative. The BJP can fill the void but it needs to first put its house in order
BJP president Amit Shah was recently in Kerala where his party has never won a seat in either the Assembly or lok Sabha elections. The key players in god’s own country have always been the CPI(M)-led left Democratic Front and the Congress-led United Democratic Front.
With predominantly Christian regional outfits such as the Kerala Congress (Mani) and Muslim outfits such as the Indian Union Muslim league backing the Congress, the support of the majority community has gone to the left Front though the CPI(M) and its allies have never sympathised with any Hindu cause.
During his visit, Mr Shah announced among other things a massive membership drive starting November 1. The BJP chief has also set the panchayat election next year as the first target for the party, which has over the years received up to 14 per cent of the vote share in the State but failed to translate it into even a single seat in the 140-member Kerala Assembly so far.
Perhaps no other State offers the BJP the kind of opportunities that Kerala does. To begin with, it is here that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has one of its strongest bases in the country. It’s network is spread across the length and breadth of the State.
Having experienced the governance models of both the lDF and the UDF, the people are not averse to the idea of a viable third alternative, provided the latter has the capacity to take head on the two alliances, project a strong and effective leadership, and show a new path of development to the people of the State.
There has always been widespread speculation that BJP votes were being sold to the highest bidder. However, since Mr V Muralidharan he took over as the BJP’s Kerala chief, he has made serious efforts to change this perception. The result of the lok Sabha election, in which the BJP secured the second position in Thiruvananthapuram and got a sizeable share of the votes elsewhere in the State, is an outcome of these efforts.
Now the party should try to increase the tally and expand into new areas besides, consolidating its position in traditional strongholds such as Palakkad. The panchayat election will enable the party to strengthen its grassroot level support.
There is also an influx of CPI(M) cadre into the BJP which is resulting in violent clashes between the two parties — an issue highlighted by Mr Shah during his Kerala visit. However, winning over some cadres is different from weaning away voters, given the ground realities in the State.
To begin with, the party does not have a charismatic leadership in the State. There is no dearth of leaders in the party but there are serious ego clashes within the present leadership, with no two leaders seeing eye to eye, and different factions being unable to come together even on major issues. The joke in Kerala is that the differences within the party which emerge during key organisational meetings, which won’t find a mention in the minutes of the meetings, can be read in the next day’s newspapers. The State unit has been unable to groom five credible and articulate faces that can defend the party’s stand on the five major television channels in the State.
Most State leaders are accused of spending time in New Delhi trying to get some or the other post for themselves including chairmanship of Coir Board, Rubber Board or other institutions related to Kerala. In fact, most Central leaders view the State leaders with suspicion and see them as power hungry individuals who are least interested in strengthening the State unit.
Moreover, unlike in the case of the left and the Congress, no major literary figure or intellectual has openly come out in support of the BJP. Actor Suresh Gopi is the only noted artist who has come out publicly in support of Mr Narendra Modi but he has not been effectively utilised by the party.
Further, unlike the left and the Congress, which have over the years become mass movements in the State, the BJP is widely seen as confined to the religious or communal sphere. The party mostly takes up religious or nationalist issues. Some of the major issues it has taken up over the years include the creation of a separate Malappuram district for Muslims, the Tali temple-Nilakkal church controversy, and the Aranmula airport issue recently.
The BJP in Kerala does not take up day-to-day issues affecting the common man such as roads, power or pollution. If Mr Shah is indeed serious about the BJP gaining a strong foothold in the State, he will have to rectify the existing anomalies and take urgent measures to revamp the party on a war footing so as to make it battle ready for the local poll scheduled for September 2015.
The BJP’s central leadership will have to categorically declare one leader as the face of the party, even if it means bringing new but credible Keralite faces, even from outside of the State. Eminent Malayalees have made a mark for themselves across the country in various disciplines ranging from medicine to media and industry to bureaucracy.
Rajiv Gandhi had spotted leaders such as KR Narayanan and Krishna Kumar and enriched the Congress at one point of time. There is no reason why the BJP cannot do a better job of it. like in other parts of the country where Mr Modi remains a positive factor notwithstanding the party’s electoral performance, in Kerala too, this factor will have to be supplemented by a strong State leadership.
Many leaders who have been marginalised over the years and are now scattered have to be brought back, activated and their strengths harnessed for the party’s growth and consolidation. The party should also work towards closer and better coordination with the RSS and other parivar units in the State, which have a wide network and a dedicated cadre.
Reaching out to the minorities, particularly Muslims, will be an uphill task for the party in the highly polarised society. Nevertheless, the BJP should also try to win over the sizeable Christian community. Of late, the community has sent a clear-cut message that it is not averse to Mr Modi’s leadership. However, the party still has to display its sincerity in reaching out to the Christian community.
Further, the BJP should also revive the National Democratic Alliance concept in Kerala and try to bring around leaders such as Mr PC Thomas, who represented the alliance in the 14th lok Sabha but may find it electorally inconvenient to join the party. This will help in attracting the Christian community towards the NDA.
The party should also reach out to the Nair Service Society and Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana, representing the influential Hindu communities of Nairs and Ezhavas, whose support is critical for any party contesting elections in the State. The two formations have been supporting the Congress and the CPI(M) from time to time. However, for these outfits to seriously look at the saffron party, the BJP will have to show that it means serious business and will play a crucial role in the State’s politics.
(The author is Senior Fellow and Editor with Vivekananda International Foundation)