THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Having picked a new state president, the BJP is set to begin deliberations on the reorganisation of the party unit in Kerala. Though Rajeev Chandrasekhar presided over a core committee meeting after taking charge, the issue of reorganisation did not come up.
Once he has settled into the post, the new president is expected to call another meeting of the core committee in the coming week, sources said.
“Chandrasekhar has a task of finding his team. Hence, there will be new office-bearers and there are chances, if the BJP extends a request, of the RSS sending an organising general secretary to help him out. As a presidential party, it is up to him and he’ll have to take all sections into confidence,” a senior BJP leader told TNIE.
The BJP state presidency has gone to the Nair community after a brief gap. At the same time, the leaders have dismissed the charge that the party is moving away from the OBC plank. Despite having adopted strategic social engineering, by promoting OBC leaders to the top, the party has struggled to penetrate new areas.
“The problem lies in the caste hierarchy system existing in society. If you are to be accepted by the leadership of all castes and communities, the upper caste background is an essential plus,” the senior BJP leader said.
Chandrasekhar’s act of highlighting Sree Narayana Guru’s words before taking over as the BJP state chief was meant to be a message to the SNDP Yogam and the ezhava community.
SNDP Yogam general secretary Vellappally Natesan also responded positively to the new president. With Chandrasekhar credited with having played a major role in the formation of BDJS, the BJP leaders calculate that he will not find it difficult to strike a rapport with the NSS either.
However, the real challenge before him will be to move forward electorally in assembly constituencies where the party has reached a saturation point. The leaders view the high growth of the middle class and the formation of a new upper middle class, besides youths, as the party’s potential base.
“To tap votes from these sections, we needed a new face and strategy,” a BJP national leader said.
“Chandrasekhar has all the qualities that aspiring middle and upper middle class seeks.”
The party will be trying to reach out to these classes in the coming days, he said.
“There is still an antipathy towards the Left, especially the CPM, among these classes though the latter is trying hard to reach out to them. Except in Thrissur, the Christian inclination towards us is limited and Muslims are against us. Hence, we have to find new avenues. The good certificate given by Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan that Chandrasekhar is not a person with a BJP ideology will make our effort easier. And our fight will be with the Congress,” the BJP leader added.