Kochi, 15 December(HS): The much-talked-about honeymoon between the BJP and Church in Kerala has come a cropper as the Hindutva party failed to make any deep inroads in the Christian dominated Central Travancore (districts of Kottayam, Ernakulam, Alappuzha, Idukki, Pathanamthitta) and in Thrissur.
Barring the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation, the BJP failed to make any impact and finished the race as an “also-ran” participant in the elections held to the Local Selg Government Institutions on 9th and 11th December.
Thiruvananthapuram Corporation has a considerable Hindu population which has helped the BJP to touch the magic figure of 50. But results from other local bodies are not inspiring or encouraging. “We were expecting some gains in districts like Ernakulam, Idukki, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha and Kottayam districts, which have a major Christian population. But the results prove that the ties with the Church have not yielded any results. In fact we suffered many setbacks in these districts,” said a top BJP leader in Kerala on condition of anonymity.
He said the results from Thrissur municipal corporation and other local bodies in the district were shocking because it was the first Lok Sabha constituency in the State from where a candidate fielded by the BJP (Suresh Gopi) got elected. “Going by that standard, we should have won at least 20 seats. But despite the strong Christian presence, the BJP had to content with just eight wards,” said the BJP leader.
Though the party emerged as the single largest bloc in the municipalities of Tripunithura and Palakkad, it failed to cross the figure needed for a simple majority. “The truth is that Christians did not vote for us. This will be discussed in the party’s various committees,” he said.
Meanwhile, lobbying by some of the Christian leaders have reached a feverish pitch to corner senior positions in the party’s national hierarchy. Anoop Antony, State General Secretary of the BJP, is the front runner for the national secretary’s post and has flooded the social media pages with descriptions extolling his virtues. The question being asked is how a person who cannot help the party win even a single village panchayat in his native district could be promoted as national general secretary.
Hindusthan Samachar / Manohar Yadavatti
