THOOTHUKUDI: The stage is set for the emergence of a third front—usually a grouping of anti-BJP parties of late—in Kerala where bipolar politics controlled by the UDF and LDF has been ruling the roost for over four decades. Now there is a twist in the tale. With the upcoming Assembly polls just four months away, this time it’s the BJP, which so far has been considered as a political untouchable is gearing up to head a third front with Bharat Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS), the proposed political party sponsored by SNDP Yogam, likely to join the front.
Unlike in other parts of the country, the third front being emerged in Kerala is headed by BJP. Till a couple of months back, there were a very few takers for the idea of a third front. But it was the local body elections held in November that marked the change. It was at the reception accorded to Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Thrishur on December 14 that he proposed the urgent need of a third front to liberate the state from the grip of LDF and UDF.
SNDP Yogam, the formidable social organisation of the Ezhava community, has already tested the waters by giving nod to its workers to form local-level alliances with the BJP during the local body elections. Though the results were not that adequate, in several parts of the state, it was found to be working. BJP could win over 1,300 seats of the 21,000 local body seats. More importantly, its vote share has grown to over 15 per cent from the 12 per cent it secured in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. The fact that BJP could win just a little over 1,300 in the 1,199 local bodies is a grave reminder that it has miles to go before making big claims. Besides the prospect of aligning with the BDJS, no major political outfit has come to the BJP camp so far. The unpredictable character of Vellappally Nateshan, the SNDP Yogam general secretary, also has to be taken care of.