It’s amusing how BJP leaders in Kerala keep fighting among themselves. As if they have achieved a great deal and the tussle is over sharing the spoils. The truth is their biggest achievement so far has been winning an Assembly seat, whereas they have splendidly squandered every opportunity available to deliver electoral results for the party. Right now, a struggle is on after the party appointed a new president for the state unit. Even the process of picking a new chief, after the last one was conveniently moved to distant Mizoram as governor, took almost four months — an indication of the intense factional rivalry and lobbying that went on behind the doors.
The appointment of K Surendran, the 49-year-old poster boy of Sabarimala agitation known for fiery speeches and radical views, as the Kerala unit boss has deepened the party fault lines, with other contenders making evident their stubborn unwillingness to work with him. If the leadership was hoping to pep up the state unit by entrusting the reins to a firebrand, it is finding itself in a peculiar situation where it has to try hard to make the man it chose acceptable to the rest. If it was looking for a certain Yogi Adityanath in Surendran, it must have realised Kerala is no UP.
Factionalism is one reason why BJP has failed to make convincing electoral gains in Kerala despite expanding its support base. The party-led NDA’s vote share has grown from election to election —from 10.8 per cent in 2014 (Lok Sabha) to 14.9 per cent in 2016 (Assembly) to 15.6 per cent (Lok Sabha). But, this has not been enough to establish it as a winnable contender among Kerala’s political fronts. In every election, the party nurses great hopes and makes tall claims, only to end up being an also-ran. The BJP’s failure in Kerala can certainly be credited to its state leadership, which has consistently failed to make use of opportunities, turn support base into votes, send the right message to people and, most importantly, appear credible enough to inspire confidence. The leaders, pushing their own agendas, seem to lack a common goal, which reflects in inconsistent electoral performance.
While BJP has had partial success in the South, it was hoping to make a breakthrough in Kerala, exploiting the state’s decades-old two-front political system and the people’s need for a change. But, its lack of success despite trying really hard shows its insufficient understanding of the state and its people. The hardline politics that worked elsewhere seems to have run into a secular wall here. While Kerala’s large minority population certainly is a challenge, what must be worrying the party the most is its limited success in swaying the Hindu votes. Even after the emotionally charged Sabarimala agitation, in which it played a major role, the party failed to secure enough Hindu votes to make a difference. The Left’s longevity, past its predicted expiry date, is another hurdle in the BJP emerging as an alternative political force.
The BJP has entrusted control of the state unit to Surendran with much hope, banking on his track record and organisational skills to turn around the party’s fortunes before the local body polls due in a few months and Assembly polls next year. Surendran contested the 2019 LS election from Pathanamthitta and polled close to 3 lakh votes with an impressive vote share of 29 per cent. Before that, in 2016, he had narrowly lost in the Manjeswaram Assembly seat by 89 votes.
But, with his appointment, the party which had two factions — one led by Union minister V Muraleedharan, to which Surendran belongs, and the other by ex-president P K Krishnadas – seems to have developed more cracks. Krishnadas had put up two candidates — M T Ramesh and A N Radhakrishnan. Sobha Surendran, the 45-year-old rising star who polled 2.5 lakh votes in the Attingal LS seat, was another contender. After the selection, Sobha, Ramesh and Radhakrishnan have been sulking. Some others, too, are upset. With efforts to broker peace failing, Surendran is left to lead a highly divided organisation. Again, factionalism is threatening to disrupt whatever plans BJP has for Kerala. It’s surprising, almost comical, how the party manages to bungle repeatedly despite having opportunities to succeed.
Kiran Prakash
Resident Editor, Kerala
kiranprakash@newindianexpress.com