Eco warriors and dalits – BJP is searching for new social allies in Kerala

The Times of India , Sunday, September 14, 2014
Correspondent : B Sreejan
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: BJP national president Amit Shah had a surprise guest at the government guest house here in Thiruvananthapuram during his recent Kerala visit - B Sugathakumari, the radical poet, feminist and environmental activist. She, along with VHP leader Kummanam Rajasekharan, made two presentations - one to pitch for the implementation of the Gadgil panel report on the Western Ghats, and another to save a wetland in central Kerala where an airport has been proposed.

Shah heard Sugathakumari out, but, didn't quite commit on either green campaign in the state. A few days later, Sugathakumari told TOI that it was too soon to comment on whether the BJP genuinely cared for the environment or was looking to woo eco warriors as political allies.

There is another section of Kerala society that the BJP is keen to consort with - the dalits. Kerala Pulayar Mahasabha (KPMS), recently co-hosted dalit leader Ayyankali's 152nd birth day celebration in New Delhi and Prime Minister Narendra Modi was its chief guest. T V Babu, general secretary of the mahasabha, says his own community of pulayars and other dalit communities in the state have been waiting for a long time for a change in their fortunes and that time is here. "But, that doesn't mean that we are rallying behind the BJP. So far, both the Congress and the CPM have been exploiting our community to boost their cadres. We now want to exploit the opportunity as well," says Babu.

The state unit of the BJP, which has been struggling hard to send a member to the Kerala Assembly or Parliament, is trying to make inroads into these groups - the greens and the dalits. A grand Green-Blue-Saffron alliance is the party's new mantra and it is hoping that this colour combination will land it a place in the state assembly in the 2016 assembly polls. The BJP has, to date, never won a single seat in the Kerala assembly.

The BJP has the support of the RSS in its mission. In fact, the RSS is more vocal in its support for the Gadgil report and its criticism of the Aranmula airport project. The protest against airport is spearheaded by various Hindu organisations and its impact was visible in the 2014 Lok Sabha poll results - the BJP improved its vote tally from 56,294 in 2009 to 1,38,954 in Pathanamthitta constituency where the proposed airport is located. The growth was impressive, especially given that the LDF too had tried to win anti-airport votes by poaching Peelipose Thomas, a protest leader from the Congress.

BJP general secretary K Surendran says the party has started to intervene seriously in issues relating to dalits and the environment. "We are on a mission to strengthen the party base by adding more members," he says.

Meanwhile, the party is focusing on activities that highlight the Hindutva agenda. For the first time ever, the BJP organized Ganesh Chathurthi celebrations in all districts of the state. In Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, one of the civic bodies the BJP is eyeing, there was celebration in all 100 wards culminating in a Rath Yatra. There are big plans to celebrate the Navaratri festival in the coming weeks.

 
SOURCE : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Eco-warriors-and-dalits-BJP-is-searching-for-new-social-allies-in-Kerala/articleshow/42412579.cms
 


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