– T Satisan from Kochi
BJP national president Amit Shah’s three-day visit to Kerala has shaken the very political landscape of the state. It has boosted the morale of the nationalists in the state while those with anti-Hindu and anti-nationalist ideologies are shattered. The high spirits the BJP leaders, workers and rank and file have assumed and the same time the panic statements of both CPM-led LDF and Congress-led UDF are clear testimonies to the achievements his visit bagged. His statement while laying the foundation stone for the new party state headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram that it was the foundation stone for not only the party state office but also for the government which BJP is going to form in the state sent tremors across all anti-BJP and anti-RSS forces in the state. Even though the visits was confined to Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram, their impact was tremendous throughout the state.
Amit Shah arrived in Kochi on June 2 morning. He was accorded an exalting reception in Kochi International Airport on arrival. Thousands of workers and leaders of BJP, including women, and other NDA partners assembled at the airport under their respective banners and flags. Folk art forms like Kavatiyattam, theyyam and shinkarimelam added spice to the thrilling atmosphere. Women folk offered thalappoli, a traditional style of welcome in Kerala. BJP leaders Kummanam Rajasekharan, O Rajagopal MLA, H Raja, P K Krishnadas, Muruganandan, A N Radhakrishnan and all prominent leaders of the NDA partners were there to welcome the national leader. Then the party president was taken to Ernakulam government guest house in a motorcade of hundreds of vehicles and thousands of two-wheelers. Hundreds of women participated in the two-wheeler rally. Then he addressed the state core committee meeting of BJP. The next programme was the state level meeting of the NDA leaders.
BJP president’s next programme was an interaction with the high priests of The Churches in Kerala. Cardinal Mar George Alanchcerry and several metropolitans and bishops of different denominations met him in Kochi.
Party president’s last organisational programme was the meeting of the party workers elected to the local self-governing bodies.
Addressing the meeting of more than 1200 elected representatives of BJP from all over the state, Amit Shah said that those representatives constitute the seed of the future BJP government in the state. He said that Narendra Modi regime has given a lot of relief packages for the people of Kerala. The Modi’s Government has declared an open war against black money and corruption. He reminded the audience that not a single corruption charge has been levelled against the NDA government or its ministers. He called on the representatives to take the union government’s programmes to the people of the state. He asked them to use the popularity they enjoy in their areas to empower the party there. It will help the party to achieve its goal of being the ruling party of the state. BJP rules majority of the states. CPM is confined to two states. And, Tripura is all set to go BJP way and to have a BJP government after the next assembly elections.
Amit Shah inaugurated the website of Jalaswaraj, an ambitious project of the party in Kerala. The project is for promoting the preservation of water, rainwater harvest, agriculture and afforestation.
Next day, Amit Shah reached Thiruvananthapuram where he was given an enthusiastic reception on arrival. The heavy showers could not kill the ecstasy of thousands of workers assembled at the airport to welcome their leader. Party’s senior leaders P K Krishnadas and V Muraleedharan, Suresh Gopi MP, Kummanam Rajasekhran, national general secretaries Bhupendra Yadav MP and Nalin Katil MP, national joint organising secretary B L Santosh and several other BJP leaders and leaders of the NDA partners were with him. Four horse-mounted workers led the motorcade carrying party flags. People and party workers lined up on either side of the roads showered flowers on the president’s vehicle and it looked like flower spread roads set for Shah. Thousands of two wheelers escorted him to the guest house. On the way, Shah garlanded the statue of Mahatma Ayyankali, the great champion of Dalits in the state.
Afterwards, Amit Shah addressed the meeting of the state office bearers. He also addressed the meeting of the men-in-charge of Lok Sabha constituencies. Later, Shah addressed a meeting of the prominent citizens of the capital city. He presented a list of the central assistance given to the state. During the UPA rule, the state got Rs 33,368 crores as the central share as per the proposals of the Finance Commission whereas BJP government gave Rs 98,932 crores. He said that Kerala is a divine land for BJP as it is the land of Sree Narayana Guru and Adi Shankara; it is the land where Deendayalji took over as the president of Bharatiya Jan Sangh.
His next meeting was with sannyasins of various maths in Kerala. They discussed the general issues being faced by the state and the hardships the Hindu society faces here. Amit Shah had a cordial meeting with the senior priests of different Christian denominations at Bishop House. After the meeting, Syro Malankara Church Arch Bishop Cardinal Baselius Mar Climis told the media persons that they would go with the government for the progress of the country. They drew the attention of the ruling party president to various problems the fishermen community faces.
On June 4, party president’s most auspicious programme was the foundation stone laying of the proposed Mararji Bhavan, the state headquarters of the party, named after the legendary state leader late KG Marar. Later, he conducted a booth committee meeting, a mandatory programme for all leaders as decided in the last national executive. His next programme was of Deendayal Upadhyay centenary celebrations committee meeting. He had a meeting with the state president and genera secretaries of Kerala BJP. The same evening he left for Delhi.
Both CPM and Congress are too much worried about the successful visit of Amit Shah. CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan’s baseless allegation speaks out his party’s worry. He said that Amit Shah roams in Kerala to purchase Keralites and Rs 1,200 crores have been allotted for this. Rs 500 cores out of this amount goes to the RSS! The BJP has sent a legal notice against CPM leader in this regard. It says, the allegation has hurt the feelings of the BJP workers.
The unprecedented welcome Amit Shah got in Kerala has boosted the morale of the BJP workers to a never-before level. Observers believe that it is going to influence the voting pattern in the Lok Sabha polls of 2019 and Assembly elections of 2021.
