BJP plans 'Save Kerala' campaign amidst minority-majority census debate

In God's own country, a debate brewing over changing demography is getting the BJP heady. As part of its strategy to consolidate the Hindu vote in Kerala, the saffron party is planning to start a campaign to highlight ramifications of 'dwindling' numbers of the majority community.

A party leader from Kerala said the BJP would start a week-long campaign across the state from August 17, which is the beginning of the "kolla varsham" or Malayalam new year, to underline "dangers of majority Hindus becoming a minority". The state-wide campaign "Keralathe Rakshikyu, Keraliyathe Nilanirthu (save Kerala, retain its identity)", is expected to target the Congress-led UDF and the CPM-led LDF for what the BJP dubs as catering to interests of minorities. 

Reports on the 2011 census showing increase in percentage of minority population in Kerala has given the BJP a new slogan in the state, where the party has been making desperate attempts to make inroads, a UDF leader said. 

The concern on the census reports reflected in the party's state executive meeting last month. A resolution adopted at the meet in Kozhikode cited the census report that minority population has gone up from 44 per cent in 2001 to 52 per cent in 2011 and said the demography is changing the "minority into majority and majority into minority". It said if the trend continued, then in the next quarter of a century Kerala will be Muslim majority state. The BJP has also expressed apprehensions about the ruling UDF taking political advantage of the Bangladeshi immigrants in the state.

Kerala party leaders will address rallies in all 14 district headquarters on August 17 and 18, party sources said. After that, rallies will be addressed in each of the 140 assembly segments. They said it will mark the beginning of the campaign for next year's assembly election and local body elections this year. "It is not just about demographic change. It is something beyond that which will take away the essence of Kerala life. We are trying to wake up the people to this grave issue and highlight the concerns of the majority community," BJP's state president V Muralidharan said.

As part of its strategy to wean away the Hindu vote, particularly of the Ezhavas and other backward classes, scheduled castes and scheduled tribes from the LDF, the BJP is also likely to play up the CPM's opposing the hanging of Yakub Memon, sources said. The BJP views the Aruvikkara assembly by-poll, in which the BJP's vote share increased five times, as a sign of a major shift in the state's political landscape. The party resolution said the increasing minority population was threatening the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, the sources said.

An article in the RSS mouthpiece 'Organiser' has gone to the extent of asking if the government will give minority status to Hindus given the "exceptional situation" in the state and said "the question still remains that why the ire of Hindus cannot be cashed in by BJP."