Meghalaya Assembly Elections: How BJP is reaching out to Christians in the northeast state

BJP has mustered a negative perception among the Christian community as a ‘Hindus-only’ party

With the Assembly elections in Meghalaya set to take place on February 27 and political parties in the fray frantically engaging in campaigns, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) kicked off an intensive outreach programme targeting the Christian population in the Christian-majority tribal state. The expansive program is aimed at gaining the favour of the Christian community and to do away with the general notion that the BJP is a purely ‘Hindu’ party. BJP has also, for the first time, fielded candidates in all 60 seats.

The party made its debut in the state in 2018 by winning two Assembly seats and garnering 9.6 per cent of the votes cast.

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“Our performance was very encouraging because even though we won only two seats, our vote share was respectable and gave us hope for a lot of improvement. It was just two per cent less than the vote share of the United Democratic Party (UDP) which bagged six seats,” Meghalaya BJP president Ernest Mawrie told Swarajya.

According to a detailed analysis of BJP’s performance in the polls, it was found that the party did muster a negative perception among the Christian community as a ‘Hindus-only’ party.

Rising to the occasion, the BJP leadership has branched out on its campaigning program with prominent leaders and Union ministers frequenting the poll-bound state and showering praises on the Modi government and party policies to ward off the ‘wrong’ image of the party.

As per reports, members of BJP’s Minority Morcha have been holding intensive discussions with church leaders, civil society members, and heads of traditional institutions.

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Elizabeth Matthews Nongbri, member of the National Executive Committee of BJP’s Minority Wing, who is heading the outreach program in Meghalaya told Swarajya that she met the Catholic Bishop in Shillong. She also handed over a letter elaborating on BJP’s sole focus which the party claims is inclusive development of the country and all sections of society. “My letter attempts to dispel the misconceptions about my party,” she said. Nongbri also reached out to leaders of other Christian denominations in Meghalaya.

Discussions were also held with leaders of traditional institutions like Rangbah Shnongs and Nokmas and also leaders of influential organisations like the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU).

BJP has seen new joiners including MLAs, leaders and workers from other parties, including NPP, UDP, Congress and even TMC. One such recent switch by Assembly Speaker Martin M Danggo was welcomed by many including local pastors and Church elders.

“Almost all our candidates, at least 75, in the 80 seats (60 in Meghalaya and 20 in Nagaland) that we are contesting are Christians. Even the remaining five are non-Hindus,” Rituraj Kishore Sinha, BJP national secretary and joint coordinator of the northeastern states, told TOI.

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“BJP is not anti-church or against any religion. The BJP is only against those who are anti-national. The BJP is inclusive,” he added.

He was also quoted saying that the PRASAD (Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive) scheme, which puts focus on developing and identifying pilgrimage sites across India for enriching the religious tourism experience, has also pitched in towards the redevelopment of churches and Christian-supported institutions.