Intro: The BJP should concentrate on key seats, prospective candidates, developmental issues, and on Hindu vote-bank by weaning away from Congress and CPM pockets.
Following, the rupees one crore, bribery charge against Finance Minister KM Mani of Kerala Congress by bar owner, the ruling Congress led United Democratic Front (UDF) is in turmoil. This bribery charge is another thorn in the thorny crown of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, the others being the multi-crore solar scam, +2 schools allotment to Muslim/Christian managements, human trafficking to madrasa schools etc. With rising prices, the life of the common man is in misery. But insensitive to this, the State administration is at standstill, with bars closure, the main issue for almost six months.
There is a growing perception among the people of Kerala that the State government is functioning only for Muslims and Christians. Hindu organisations like Kerala Pulayar Maha Sabha (KPMS), Shree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP) and Nair Service Society (NSS) have already expressed strong opinions. SNDP’s Vellapally Natesan and NSS’s Sukumaran Nair have already criticised the Muslim League bulldozing in the education, medical and industrial sector. Even CPI’s State Secretary Panniyan Raveendran said recently, that the State government exists only for Muslims and Christians.
Hindus throughout the country are getting agitated at the pitiable infrastructure at Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple, despite 6-8 crore persons visiting it during the November-January period and hundreds of crores being delivered to the Kerala economy.
The CPM which planned to wean away KM Mani from the UDF and fulfill his long cherished wish of being Chief Minister had to beat a hasty retreat, with the bribery charge hitting the headlines. Reports say that the bribery charge is a tactful move by Chandy to prevent Mani from going to Left Democratic Front (LDF). CPM State Secretary Pinarayi Vijayan’s beta noire LoP Vs Atchudanandan has called for a CBI probe into the bribery charge with CPM leaders speaking in different voices on the probe. Meanwhile CPI has hit out at CPM saying all its agitations against the UDF regime were ‘Adjustment Agitations’. The CPM’s big-brother attitude has made the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) go to UDF. Smaller parties like Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Janata Dal, and Congress(s) are privy to CPM’s bashing.
With Congress on a national decline and Modi well-entrenched for atleast a decade, the Hindus right from Brahmins to Nairs to Ezhavas to SC/STs to Vanavasis are veeing to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Thousands of CPM, Congress workers are flocking to BJP. This flow has to be made into a tsunami like in West Bengal where CPM offices are converted into BJP offices, overnight.
The BJP has to rise out of its slumber and lethargy and look beyond 84 years old BJP stalwart and former Union Minister O Rajagopal who won four of the seven Assembly segments in Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha and gave terror to Shashi Tharoor till the last round. With BJP getting 20 lakh votes in 2014, it has to intensify the membership campaign and work hard for victories in 2015 local body and 2016 Assembly polls. The BJP has to concentrate on strong seats with prospective candidates and on the Hindu vote-bank by weaning away these from Congress/CPM pockets. The BJP’s success solely rests on Hindu votes which earlier went to CPM and Congress. BJP has to bite the bullet hard and its time starts now.
—S Chandrasekhar from Thiruvananthapuram
