The meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Pope Francis in Rome seems to be a shot in the arm by BJP leaders in Kerala in its efforts to make inroads into the decisive Christian vote banks of the state.
BJP leaders from Kerala, including Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan, were quick to make statements in this regard, and BJP state president K Surendran called on a prominent church leader during the day.
While Muraleedharan stated that Modi's meeting with the Pope highlights the care and concern of the BJP government towards the Christian community, Surendran called on Major Archbishop of Syro-Malabar Malankara Catholic church Cardinal Baselios Cleemis in Thiruvananthapuram. Cleemis later said that Modi's meeting with Pope was very hopeful for the Christian community.
The Christian community in Kerala forms 18.38 per cent of state's population as per the 2011 census and are decisive vote banks in many parts of the state, especially central Kerala. The BJP has been making efforts to make inroads into the community by initiating talks between the church leaders and BJP national leaders. BJP leaders were also backing the concerns of some church leaders over alleged 'love jihad'. But the BJP were yet to get any electoral advantage from such efforts.
Hence the PM's meeting with Pope Francis is being considered by the BJP camps of Kerala as a shot in the arm.
The Christian vote banks of Kerala was so far considered as pro-Congress. However, in the recent Assembly elections a shift in Christian vote banks in favour of the Left Front was quite evident, and the rapport developed Chief Minster Pinarayi Vijayan with church leaders was considered to be the major factor for this change.
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