By Santosh Kumar Pathak
New Delhi, Apr 30 (IANS): The BJP is making all-out efforts and has launched an outreach campaign to woo the minority communities, especially Muslims and Christians, for the Lok Sabha polls in 2024.
After recording wins in elections in the northeastern states, the BJP is elated about support from the Christian community.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has been advising leaders and workers of the party to interact with minority communities without thinking about votes, had met eight Bishops during his Kerala visit.
In Kerala, the Prime Minister had announced that in the coming times an alliance led by the BJP will lead the government in the state. On the occasion of Easter, Modi visited the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Delhi, heard the prayers and met Bishops.
In 2021, the Prime Minister had visited the Vatican, met Pope Francis and extended an invite to him to visit India.
Under this campaign, the BJP had welcomed Congress leader Tom Vadakkan into the party fold and made him its national spokesperson.
For the past many years, the RSS has also been trying to connect with the Christians and bring them into the party fold.
On the lines of the Muslim Rashtriya Manch to woo Muslims, RSS senior leader Indresh Kumar made Vadakkan the national president of the Bharatiya Christian Manch.
Talking to IANS, Vaddakan said it would be wrong to call it an outreach programme, as in Kerala people from the Christian community are themselves getting in touch with leaders and workers of the party to know the party's policies and vision. The Christian community is itself coming forward and we (BJP) are trying to make them understand what the BJP wants and what is its agenda of development.
Talking about the Prime Minister's statements, he said that the party's aim is to take all communities with it and reach out to every section of the society without caring for votes.
Terming the BJP's "anti-minority" image as the opposition's propaganda, Vadakkan said that for the past 70 years the Congress, Left and other parties have been using the minority communities for votes only while the BJP is working for the development of all.
He claimed that the Christian community in Kerala is disappointed with the Left government and the Congress alliance and wants to be associated with the BJP for development.
The results of the polls in the northeast and Goa have proved that all sections of society, including the Christian community, are with the BJP for the latter's agenda of development, he added.
On the Christian community's support in the 2024 Assembly polls, Vadakkan said that the process has begun.
The electorate has to decide what it will do in the polls and our effort is to work for the development of all irrespective of whether they support us or not, he stated.