NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party, which has had minor electoral impressions in Kerala so far, has for the first time won a Lok Sabha seat in the state and also increased its vote share to around 20 percent (from 13% in 2019). According to political watchers, the future of the saffron camp in the state seems “interesting” as well as “bright”.
Although, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has traditionally not an important player in Kerala politics and the political landscape has been dominated by the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the United Democratic Front (UDF).
However, the BJP has been trying to make inroads in the state in recent years. In the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, the party not only won Thrissur LS constituency, but also came runner up on another Lok Sabha seat of Thiruvananthapuram which was won by Congress candidate Shashi Tharoor. In addition to that, micro analysing all the Lok Sabha segments, BJP has been front runner on 11 assembly constituencies in the state.
A Congress leader said, “Earlier, the saffron party would not be discussed by the electorate in the state, as it had no impact. It was just a party, which would be seen during elections and after elections; it would vanish like smaller parties. But now the party is being discussed. It is showing signs of being accepted by the people. The party is getting upper caste votes.”
Apart from the party’s laudable performance, the saffron camp, according to party leaders, is further getting closer to Christian community by developing relationships with priests and Christian organisations. Christians are 19 percent of the total population in Kerala, the party.
Another important alliance, which is expected to be instrumental in the saffron party’s support base, is Bharath Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS), which is a political party in the Indian state of Kerala. In the 2016 Kerala Legislative Assembly election, BDJS was part of National Democratic Alliance and contested in 37 seats (out of 140) but won none. In the 2019 Lok Sabha election in Kerala, BDJS contested in 4 seats (out of 20) and won none. A political observer in the state said, “BDJS is an organization representing the Ezhava community in Kerala. Ezhavas are the single largest Hindu community in Kerala making up about 23% population of the state. They belong to the OBC category, and have traditionally been a part of the ruling CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF)’s vote bank. But now the solid emergence of the saffron camp can drift them towards BJP as well.”
According to a political analyst, “The BJP has created a power centre in the state by winning a Lok Sabha seat. That is important as the people associate themselves with power and therefore that can help them build their cadre. The electoral future of the party will also depend on various factors including how well the party can manage the perception of their party, connect with voters, and also the performance of its elected leader, it will have to make smaller alliances, and pick up the issues that are important to the people of Kerala.”