Thushar Vellappally, the leader of Bharath Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS), a partner of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), has emphasized that the “Hindutva” agenda will not help govern the country. In a meeting with his party workers at the Town Hall in Ernakulam, Vellappally stated that it was essential for his party to build relations with minorities.
He added that his party needed the support of minority communities to govern Kerala and that his strategy had been communicated to the BJP leadership. Vellappally’s statement is being interpreted as a rallying call with the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in sight. BDJS and the NDA have yet to experience victory in the General Elections in Kerala.
Vellappally’s appeal to open the doors to minorities is seen as a reflection of the BJP’s election success in the Northeast, where they succeeded in winning the favor of a significant minority community. In the recent assembly polls in Nagaland, where 90% of the population is Christian, the BJP-NDPP alliance secured the majority.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Vellappally contested against Rahul Gandhi from Wayanad and suffered a significant defeat, managing less than 60,000 votes while the Congress leader had a majority of 4,31,770 votes over CPI’s PP Suneer.
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