Outlook – July 28, 2019

18 OutlOOk 29 july 2019

Rajinikanth to consolidate its position.

“For the AIADMK, it’s all going down­

hill. The BJP is cleverly trying to

create an alternative to the DMK

alliance and may rope in leaders like

Rajinikanth,” says Shastri.

Kerala^

I

N god’s own country, the BJP­led

NDA may have come a cropper

again in the Lok Sabha elections, but

closer analyses of the voteshare prove

that there is a steady pattern of

ideological Hindutva becoming

electoral Hindutva in the state.

“Steady inc rease in voteshare over the

past three general elections shows a

definitive gain for the party,” says

Prof P.K. Yasser Arafath of Delhi

University’s history department.

“The micro det ails of the three

elections show that the BJP has been

growing fast. With this growth rate,

which is most likely to persist, the

Sangh parivar is not far away from

capturing about half of the majority

electorate in the next 10 years. A

Lokniti­Centre for the Study of

Developing Societies (CSDS) survey

shows how the NDA successfully

secured more than 38 per cent of the

privileged caste vote in 2019. An undi­

vided 50 per cent from the majority

electorate would definitely help the

BJP make strong inroads into Kerala.”

BJP’s state president P.S. Sree dharan

Pillai is obviously a happy man. “Our

voteshare saw a 56 per cent increase

from the last elections,” he says.

Political analyst J. Prabhash says the

party is all set to gain in the state.

“Though I wouldn’t say we are going

to see an immediate sea­change in

electoral results, the rise in the party’s

voteshare is significant,” he adds.

Prabhash believes there are three

factors to be considered. “The

Sabarimala issue has certainly helped

the BJP secure a number of votes.

Then, the coalition with the BDJS and

the Kerala Congress (Thomas) has

given them a sort of legitimacy. Third

is the fact that the Congress is getting

weaker in many pockets.”

The BJP has set a target of doubling

party membership in the state. “We

want to bring more people, including

members of the minority community,

into the party,” says Pillai. With the

BJP policy of wooing the minorities—

alr eady a few Christian leaders are

with them in Kerala—the party is

slowly but steadily making electoral

gains in its last post to conquer in

the south. O

with M.S. Shanker in Hyderabad

and Sabin Iqbal in Kochi

“Kerala voteshares over

the past three general

elections show the BJP

may capture half its

majority elctorate in 10

years,” says Arafath.

ShoW WeLL BJP MLAs demand the Karanataka CM’s resignation, July 16

bjp MARCH

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