Bring in as many Hindu groups as possible: Amit Shah tells Kerala leaders | The Indian Express

BJP PRESIDENT Amit Shah on Thursday asked his party leaders in Kerala to bring in even small Hindu groups to the party fold for the coming state polls.

BJP sources said that at the party core committee meeting in Aluva, Shah directed the leaders to take into confidence 70-odd Hindu organisations active in the state.

“The national leadership is looking at a larger Hindu spectrum beyond Nair and Ezhava communities. Small groups and its leaders, even if they can influence only a few hundred votes in a constituency, should be won over. That is the strategy suggested by the central leadership,” the sources said.

Shah also addressed a meeting in Kottayam as part of state party president Kummanam Rajasekharan’s ongoing Kerala ‘liberation’ yatra. At the meeting, he said only the BJP would ensure development of Kerala and the people would opt for a change in the next assembly elections.

 Stating that Kerala has become a state of violence under the Left regime and corruption under UDF rule, he said the BJP would ensure justice to all.

Sources said BJP would be contesting 80 out of 140 seats and the rest would be given to its allies. The party would field senior leaders. A few independents such as former ISRO chief K Radhakrishnan and actor Suresh Gopi are also being considered as candidates.

Sources said the BJP would be focusing on the solid Hindu vote bank in Thiruvananthapuram district and a Hindu-Christian combination in Central Kerala.