THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Senior BJP leader Sobha Surendran’s invitation to the Muslim League to join the NDA fold if it sheds its ‘communal’ policies, may seem as an attempt by the saffron alliance to broaden its base. But coming as it did during the BJP’s Vijaya Yatra, Sobha’s words did land K Surendran, the party’s state president and poster boy of hardline Hindutva, in a catch-22 situation.
At a public function held at Chelakkara in Thrissur as part of the yatra, Sobha reiterated her stance on the Muslim League. She said the League could be welcomed to the NDA fold if it sheds its communal nature, embraces nationalism and approves the policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She underscored that the BJP is a political organisation that takes all groups along with it.
Surendran, who spoke after Sobha, chose to set the record straight by likening the Muslim League’s ‘communal nature’ to the spots on a leopard that will never vanish. He also referred to the League as a party that was responsible for the country’s partition.
Surendran soon realised the implications of adopting a very rigid stance. At a press conference later, he softened his position and adopted a more conciliatory tone. “If the Muslim League sheds its communal agenda and adopts Modi’s policies, who will say no to it?” Surendran asked rhetorically. His words were also seen as an attempt to portray that there were no differences within the party on the topic.
Surendran has to do a balancing act
“It is to be noted that adopting an all-inclusive approach and wooing large sections of minorities is a strategy prescribed by the central leadership for electoral gain in the state. Rejecting it outright would also be interpreted as reluctance to toe that line,” a member of the BJP state core group told TNIE. Meanwhile, former party president Kummanam Rajasekharan too adopted a stance similar to that of Sobha regarding the Muslim League.
It is also pointed out that adopting a soft stance suddenly towards the Indian Union Muslim League will not be easy for Surendran, who has been constantly training his guns on the party. According to observers, he will have to do a balancing act as going soft on the League may also invite the risk of alienating voters who root for hardline Hindutva.