“Otherwise, only one figure will come to the BJP in Kerala and that is zero,” Tharoor told the media.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing the BJP rally in the state, urged voters to vote for the saffron party so that it can poll double digits in the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Reacting to the allegation, Thiruvananthapuram MP told ANI, “I don't think the BJP will win even a single seat in Kerala. Their strongest performance has always been in Thiruvananthapuram… I don't expect them to be anything better. not this time either. We have strong candidates everywhere else.”
BJP has never understood the history and culture of Kerala
The Thiruvananthapuram MP said the BJP's reach in Kerala is limited as the saffron party has not yet understood the culture and history of the state.
He adds, “I think the support base of the BJP in our state is limited. Their kind of appeal is based on Hindutva, Hindi, Hindu and Hindustan; their kind of message doesn't get across very well here in Kerala.”
Noting that people of different faiths live together peacefully, he said, as reported by PTI, “We have lived together for more than 2,000 years. Our relationship with each other is one of welcome and acceptance,” Tharoor said.
Kerala welcomed Jews when they came here after the destruction of the First Temple by the Babylonians, about 500 years before Christ was born.
“Today, Jews tell me that this is the only Jewish diaspora that has never known any case of anti-Semitic persecution in the world.”
About the Christian and Muslim community in the state, he added:
“In the same way, Christianity came with St. Thomas, St. Thomas of the Apostles, it was welcomed again and spread. Then came Islam, and not by the sword.”
“You see, the problem in the North is that they think their history is the only history. We have traders from the Arab world who came to Kerala centuries before the Prophet, and they brought the message of the Prophet as news from their peninsula.”
Why Kerala will never vote for the BJP
“As far as Kerala is concerned, communalism cannot go beyond a very narrow limit,” he said, adding, “we have already seen the BJP in Kerala reaching that limit.”
“In the two consecutive elections, their votes were between 12 and 13 percent. I give credit to Mr. Modi that they have gone from a 6 percent party to a 12 to 13 percent party under him, but I think that's it; the ceiling has been reached,” Tharoor said.
He said the BJP was trying to reach out to the Christian community in Kerala, “but after the horrors in Manipur, there is very little receptiveness to their approach.”
“So I can assure you that as far as the people of Kerala are concerned, the BJP is unlikely to win any seats in the Lok Sabha elections in Kerala. And as I said, the two numbers, Mr. Modi, will be seen as zero and zero,” Tharoor added.
While the BJP failed to win a seat in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls in Kerala, the Congress swept the state, winning 15 of the 20 seats. The Indian Muslim League won two, the CPI the Revolutionary Socialist Party one and the Kerala Congress (M) won one seat.
(With input from agencies)
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Published: Feb 29, 2024 07:16 IST