Rally was flagged off by BJP chief Amit Shah in political violence-marred Kannur district Tuesday, and will culminate in Thiruvananthapuram on 16 October.
New Delhi: The 13-day ‘Janaraksha Yathra’ of the BJP in Kerala flagged off by party president Amit Shah Tuesday is more than the party’s protest against ‘Left-sponsored’ political violence. It is a massive show of strength.
Eighteen union ministers are set to spend one day each taking part in the rally, which runs till 16 October. They will be joined by state chief ministers like Assam’s Sarbananda Sonowal and Uttar Pradesh’s Yogi Adityanath, who is scheduled to address a public gathering in Kannur Wednesday.
The rally began in Payannur town in Kannur district, and is set to culminate on 16 October in state capital Thiruvananthapuram. Vehicle rallies, padayatras, and public meetings are all part of the plan.
The choice of the end points is significant, because Kannur and Thiruvananthapuram districts have witnessed the majority of political murders that have rocked Kerala. The RSS, BJP’s ideological parent, has kept these districts at the core of its narrative against the CPI(M), which it blames for inciting political violence.
Shah will take part in a second rally on 5 October, covering the towns of Mambaram and Thalassery in Kannur district. This has great significance, because the route includes Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s hometown Pinarayi. Many in the BJP thus view it as a direct challenge to the CPI(M)’s most powerful leader.
Minority-dominated areas
Towns like Thrissur, Chalakudy, Ernakulam, and Pathanamthitta, which are considered the Christian heartland of the state, have also been included on the route. This is because in its bid to take on the Left, the BJP is trying to garner support from Christians.
In the course of his three-day stay, Shah is meeting Christian religious leaders, signalling the BJP’s willingness to join hands with them.
However, that’s not to say that the BJP is leaving out Muslim strongholds from its show of strength. Edappal and Kuttipuram in the Muslim-dominated Malappuram district have also been included on the route. The yatra will also cover towns like Kozhencherry (known as the NRI belt), and Alappuzha, another CPI(M) stronghold.
A new dawn?
Sources in the party believe that this yatra will signal the dawn of the BJP’s emergence in the state. “Over many years, it is the RSS that has held the fort, but we are beginning to gain ground. We had, in the past, won municipal and panchayat polls, and one assembly seat. But we have to work hard to wrest the state from the Left,” a senior BJP leader told ThePrint.
A senior RSS functionary added: “We are trying to garner support from wherever we can. The main enemy in the state is the Left.”
The presence of ministers like Nirmala Sitharaman, Ananth Kumar, Dharmendra Pradhan, Giriraj Singh, Smriti Irani, J.P. Nadda, V.K. Singh, and Kerala’s own Alphons Kannanthanam is expected to send a message to the people of the state – that the BJP is giving a lot of importance to the coastal state.
Today, the second day of RSS-BJP Janraksha yatra in Kerala. Today, seeing Yodi Adityanath among the crowd the Malayalis will be made to remember RODERIGO of Shakespeare’s Othello. RODERIGO, the clown will walk through the streets of Kerala. The Malayalis will have very good laugh.