'Vishwasa Samrakhsana Nayakan', means defender of the faith, is how BJP is projecting its Kerala state president K Surendran at Konni constituency in Pathanamthitta from where he is seeking a mandate, apart from Manjeshwar, in the Kerala Assembly polls. Sabarimala chants are being raised during the election campaigns of BJP candidates at various constituencies and even Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted the Sabarimala women entry issue during his election campaign in Kerala.
Even as the political parties in Kerala, especially the BJP and the Congress, are hoping to reap the benefits of the Sabarimala women entry issue in this Assembly polls also, a cross-section of people of Pathanamthitta district where the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple is situated feel that Sabrimala women entry issue is not a factor influencing the voters this time.
Interestingly, even Surendran was silent on the Sabarimala issue at many of his election speeches in Konni even as all his posters carry the tag of defender of faith.
He played a key role in stirs against the entry of women in 10-50 age group to the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple in 2018-19 following a Supreme Court order scrapping the restriction imposed on women to the shrine of Lord Ayyappa, who is believed to be a celibate.
Even the photographs of the controversy are being used in BJP's election posters.
Rajendran, a voter at Konni, told DH that he was not feeling any influence of the Sabarimala issue in this election. It is an already well-discussed matter and the people have almost realised all sides of the issue. Hence it is unlikely to make much influence. Development of the region would be the influencing factor, said Rajendran who works with a commercial establishment.
Another voter of the locality, who works as private security, also shared a similar view and also pointed out that Konni is a Christian dominated area and hence the winnability factors of BJP candidate is not so bright.
Hari, a voter of Aranmula in Pathanamthitta, and Anshad a voter of Adoor in the district, too said that no such Sabarimala effect was now felt in the constituencies. It is development issues as well as communal equations that matter, they said.
Even as Surendran, who contested as BJP candidate of Pathanamthitta in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, achieved a considerable increase in BJP's votes (from 1.38 lakhs in 2014 to 2.97 lakhs in 2019), in the 2019 by-polls at Konni that followed Surendran's votes in Konni Assembly segments decreased. While he secured around 46,500 votes in the Konni segment in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, in the Konni by-polls that followed his votes came down to 39,700. Surendran could finish only in the third position in both the polls. Though BJP won the Pandalam municipality in Pathanamthitta in the recent local body polls, it was said to be not due to the Sabarimala issue, but due to counter consolidation against a minority community outfit.
The district has considerable Christian votes. Even as BJP made bids to make inroads into the Christian vote banks, it had not made much effect so far.