Ironically, it is the Bharatiya Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS), the party formed by the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam amidst much hype and hoopla, which has spoiled the party for the BJP. The BJP’s hopes of investing heavily in a tie-up with the BDJS have been dashed to the ground with the latter opening ‘secret talks’ with other parties in the state!

It may be mentioned that the central leadership of the BJP had insisted on a tie-up with the BDJS, brushing aside the serious reservations of the state BJHP leaders. But reports have it that the alliance hopes have receded to the background with the BDJS pitching its demands a bit too high for the BJP’s comfort.

Another reason why the alliance has not materialized is the BJP’s realization that the BDJS won’t be much of a help for the party in districts like Thiruvananthapuram, Palakkad and Kasargod, the strongholds of the BJP and from where the party expects to reap a rich crop of seats. The BDJS is not a force to reckon with at all in these districts.

As for the districts like Kollam, Alappuzha and parts of Ernakulam, where the BDJS wields considerable influence, the BJP is only a bit player. Therefore, the BDJS is in no mood to concede too many seats to the BJP in these districts. The BDJS, it is learnt, is inclined to go it alone without aligning with the BJP in these areas.

Meanwhile, there are reports that the BDJS has initiated talks with parties belonging to both the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF). But both the dominant fronts have denied having ‘secret talks’ with the BDJS. If this is true, then it marks the isolation of the BDJS in Kerala’s political landscape.

The virtual break-up between the BJP and the BDJS has, not surprisingly, gladdened the hearts of the state BJP leaders who were never very enthusiastic about a tie-up with the BDJS. It was only because the central leadership favoured such a tie-up that the state BJP leaders grudgingly fell in line. Now that the alliance move has come apart, these leaders are expected to become active again.

The BJP-BDJS breakup also denotes a severe setback to the former’s dream of consolidating larger Hindu unity to counter the dominance of the minorities in Kerala politics. The BJP suffered the first setback when the powerful Nair Service Society (NSS) refused to have anything to do with the formation of a third front comprising Hindu community organizations and pro-Hindu outfits in the state. With the BDJS also virtually shutting its doors on the BJP, the latter’s dream of larger Hindu unity will remain, at least for the time being, a mere gleam in the BJP leaders’ eyes.

Understandably, the rebuff from the BDJS has forced a desperate BJP to renew efforts to woo various Christian groups in the state, among the Kerala Congress (Mani). Some kind of an understanding with the KC(M) is a must for the BJP to put up a reasonably good show in central Kerala, where the KC(M) is the strongest party. It is against this backdrop that the recent statement of BJP State president, Kummanam Rajasekharan, that the party would again have talks with various Church denominations to explore the possibilities of an understanding for the assembly elections.

It is a different matter that the Christian groups have not responded favourably, as yet, to the BJP’s overtures. It is not difficult to divine the reasons for their wariness of the BJP. After all, they have not forgotten the series of attacks against Christian churches in various parts of the country ever since the Narendra Modi Government came to power at the Centre. No prominent BJP leader, including the Prime Minister, has come forward with an assurance that there would be no recurrence of such incidents. This being the ground reality, the BJP’s efforts to have an understanding with the Christian groups are unlikely to bear fruit. (IPA Service)