Efforts by the BJP unit in Kerala over the years to woo the Christian community in the state, especially the Catholic Church, seem to be faltering against the backdrop of terse exchanges between the church and two prominent Christian leaders in the party.
The row began after former MLA George and his son Shaun George, BJP state vice president, criticized the bishop of the Malabar Syriac Catholic Church for allegedly secretly summoning nunneries and asking their members to vote for the Congress-led United Democratic Front in the recently held assembly elections in Kerala.
The seven-time former MLA, who joined the BJP in 2024, described some church leaders and bishops as “impudent” for airing their political views openly. He also alleged that a few church clergy were “barking” in support of the United Democratic Front, indicating their “corrupt politics”.
His son, Shaun George, who was the BJP candidate from Pala Assembly constituency, had criticized the church-run daily Deepika for issuing an editorial against the BJP over the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment (FCRA) Bill that was moved in Lok Sabha and later kept aside after criticism from several Christian churches. “If the church’s position is that it does not need BJP’s help, then so be it. We will not be there for the church either,” he said.
Following this, Mar Joseph Kalarangat, Bishop of Pala of the Syro-Malabar Church, issued a veiled warning to the BJP.
“Threats will not work here. Should we remain silent like animals? Who are they trying to teach? Those in public life can say anything about religious leaders. But criticism should be in respectful language. The church has the right to seek votes openly, not secretly,” Kalarangat was heard saying at a gathering over the weekend.
Responding to Bishop Kalarangat, Shaun George claimed that the BJP was the only party that rushed to his defense when he made statements about the ‘love jihad’ existing in Kerala.
“When the LDF government registered cases against him and all other parties took out marches at his residence, the BJP-RSS stood by him firmly. Did Congress stand by him? The FCRA bill is not a religious law and is not binding only on church-run charities. It applies to all castes and religions. The FCR bill was first introduced by the Congress,” George said.
The state BJP unit privately estimates that the FCRA bill, despite being suspended by the Union government after criticism from the church, has dealt a political setback to it in the April 9 Assembly elections. Deepika’s church-run editorial against the FCRA bill on Election Day is seen in this light.
The BJP has spent the past few years reaching out to Christians in the state by visiting senior clerics during Easter and Christmas and intervening in issues such as the attack on nuns in Chhattisgarh and the Munambam endowment case.
Christians together account for nearly 19% of the state’s population, and the BJP appears to be trying to alienate a section of Christian votes and merge them with their core Hindu votes in order to expand its political footprint in the state.
BJP leader KS Radhakrishnan said the counting of votes on May 4 will determine whether there is a break in Christian support for the party.
“The core voice of the BJP remains Hindu voices. The rest is all outreach. We have not moved away from our core Hindu base, but the fact is that we have adopted a pro-Christian approach,” he told local media.
