A distant third in Kerala’s bipolar politics, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is out to cash in on popular unrest over the entry of women in Sabarimala by parading a bunch of senior leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah in the state.
Modi will address his first rally in the state in Pathanamthitta, the district where the famous hill temple shrine is situated, on January 6, and another in Thrissur on January 27, the party said. Similarly, Shah will address a meeting in Palakkad on December 31 and another in either Kannur or Kozhokkode in January-end.
Though Shah was planning to visit Sabarimala in December-end, his visit was deferred due to security reasons, party sources said.
BJP chief ministers and central ministers are also planning to visit the state next month. But it remains to be seen whether the party will rope in UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath who campaigned vigorously in three states where the party lost in the recently-concluded elections.
The party has asked the state unit to keep the issue alive for some more time and continue the ongoing fast by state leaders till the Supreme Court takes up 20-odd review petitions on January 23 challenging its September 28 verdict which allowed women of all ages to worship at the temple.
{{/usCountry}}The party has asked the state unit to keep the issue alive for some more time and continue the ongoing fast by state leaders till the Supreme Court takes up 20-odd review petitions on January 23 challenging its September 28 verdict which allowed women of all ages to worship at the temple.
{{/usCountry}}The issue sparked widespread protest and the state witnessed three shutdowns in two months.
Initially, the party was planning to call off its three-week-long fast outside the state secretariat but it then decided to continue after directions from the central leadership. Party general secretary Shobha Surendran began the fast on Wednesday after fasting CK Padmanabhan, former state president, was hospitalised.
“The party will continue its stir till the concerns of Sabarimala pilgrims are addressed,” said state president PS Sreedharan Pillai.
The party feels that its recent camaraderie with powerful Nair Service Society (NSS), a socio-cultural body of upper caste Nairs, will help it politically. The NSS has taken a consistent position on the issue and one of the first outfits to implead in the case.
Though the ruling CPI(M) has warned NSS not to get into saffron camp, its general secretary G Sukumaran Nair said his organisation doesn’t need a certificate from forces that are out to destroy Sabarimala temple.
During his visit to the state in October, Shah had pledged support to the Sabarimala agitation and criticised the court for “delivering verdicts which are not feasible and workable on the ground”.
Desperate to make an inroad in the state, the party feels the emotional issue is a golden opportunity and it has identified at least five Lok Sabha seats (out of the total 20) where it has some chances.
The party has already approached former state police chief TP Senkumar, who took on the state government, and some popular cine artists. It is also planning to make Thushar Vellapally, a popular Ezhava leader, a candidate to curry favour with the backward community.