Thiruvananthapuram: Munambam village, where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was struggling to find a candidate not long ago, emerged as one of the party’s crucial victories in the recently concluded Kerala local body polls. But, the party’s win, which came on the heels of a protest that lasted over 400 days, over disputed land, has left the village divided.
The Munambam Kadappuram ward in Pallippuram panchayat elected BJP’s Kunjimon Augustine with 582 votes. Augustine defeated Rocky Binoy of Communist Party of India (Marxist) by a margin of 31 votes. Congress candidate Dani Kottaparambil got fewer than 400 votes.
The win came amid the ongoing controversy over Wakf Board’s claim over the ownership of 404 acres of land inhabited by nearly 600 families. The residents, from the fishing community comprising Latin Catholics, Syrian Catholics and Hindus, were denied their revenue rights in 2022. They launched a protest to demand the same in September 2024.
Initially projecting the protest as a political issue, the BJP projected it as a national issue, frequently citing the stir to justify the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025. But, the legislation, earlier hailed as a solution to the Munambam row, failed to yield any result.
The protest ended 30 November, after the Kerala High Court issued an interim order reinstating the revenue rights of the residents. However, a splinter group suspected to be associated with the BJP continues to protest outside Velankanni Matha Church, seeking a permanent solution.
When Waqf claimed the land of 600+ Hindu and Christian families who have lived there for generations, they were left to fight alone. Because Congress & Left stayed silent for vote-bank appeasement. It was only BJP who stood with the people of Munambam and fought till the end.… pic.twitter.com/rsZrH0pBA5
— BJP KERALAM (@BJP4Keralam) December 13, 2025
Joseph Benny, convener of the protest, told ThePrint that the BJP’s victory in Munambam was a show of gratitude for making the local issue a national one, even though the party did not resolve the problem.
“The BJP was the first party to support us. The amendment didn’t change anything. But even now, the central government can act. We gave them the ward members. There is another election coming soon. If they can’t do anything, this will not repeat,” he said.
If BJP were to resolve the issue, he said, the entire Christian community would vote for the party. The state government began intervening only after pressure from Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council (KCBC) and the Church, the Munambam resident added. “CPI(M) came second because of that. If neither of them does anything, we will vote for the Congress.”
The BJP, according to a senior party leader, gained only limited local support, which reflected in the victory. This also underlined that the party was still a long way from an endorsement from the Church. “The BJP candidate is in a tussle with the local church. The priests are against the party,” the BJP leader said.
Meanwhile, Kerala BJP general secretary Anoop Antony Joseph called his party’s win in Munambam as “historic”.
“Modi ji’s govt and BJP stood with the Munambam people in fighting the Waqf, and they have now chosen BJP as their mandate,” Anoop wrote on X when the poll results were announced 13 December.
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A divided village
Located 37 km from Kochi, the land dispute in the coastal village dates back decades. The land in contention was initially leased by the Maharaja of Travancore to Abdul Sattar Sait, a Gujarati trader who settled in Kochi. In 1950, Sait’s descendants transferred the land to Farook College under a Wakf deed. The tussle between Munambam residents and the college began in the 1970s over ownership, though it was temporarily resolved.
However, Father Antony Tharayil, a priest at the church, told ThePrint that the issue gained wider attention after the Church intervened. “The CPI(M) got its people, but many believe Congress votes went to the BJP. There is a mixed feeling among people. We believe votes were split among the three parties.”
The priest said the Church never endorsed any political party and had tried to resolve the issue much earlier, by making representations to the Kerala government and the high court. “The party (BJP) did work to win the polls and garnered support from the people. We are also getting to learn that they put other efforts too, like settling debts of some people and giving money. There are many drinkers here, some might have also supported them as they were getting alcohol daily. The party grew here like that too.”
A clip of my address at Munambam in Kerala. Justice will be given the the suffering Fishermen families. pic.twitter.com/jfFHokKlTF
— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) April 16, 2025
“Earlier, we thought the amendment would solve the issue. But nothing happened. We expected an announcement when (Union Minority Affairs Minister) Kiren Rijiju visited (in April). Now it feels like they forgot. People then realised only the Kerala government could act,” he added.
The priest added that BJP took advantage of the issue, deeply dividing the parish. “I believe this protest was a failure. Whatever we achieved, people are now divided politically. We have seen many elections, but it was never like this. It’s a small village where everyone knows each other. But in the last couple of months, people have not even been talking to each other or sitting together during Sunday Mass. It’s disheartening,” he said.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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