Nuns Got Bail, But The BJP Is Still Caught Between ‘A Rock And A Hard Place

The two nuns arrested by the Chhattisgarh police on July 25, over charges of human trafficking and forceful conversion, have been granted bail by the NIA court in Bilaspur.  The court granted bail, saying that there was no need to keep them in custody.  Though the nuns got bail, the controversy the arrest generated in Kerala will continue to haunt the BJP in Kerala, which has been trying to placate the Christian community to make inroads into Kerala, ahead of the local body elections later this year and the assembly election early next year.

Political leaders from all the major political parties in the state have been camping in the Durg to facilitate bail for the arrested nuns. At the same time, the Left and the Congress attacked the BJP for its ‘double standards’ in their approach towards Christians in Kerala and in North India.  The arrest of the nuns has come as a bolt from the blue for the BJP in Kerala, at a time when they were trying to cement the newfound bonhomie with the Churches in the state. However, it is not the attack launched by political opponents that is most troubling the BJP state unit, but rather how a section within the leadership is exploiting this against the state unit led by Rajeev Chandrasekhar. Those who oppose Rajeev Chandrasekhar allege that the ‘overzealousness’ shown by the party leadership to ‘facilitate’ bail is a ‘deviation from the core principles’ of the BJP.

While the Sangh Parivar organisations like Hindu Aikya Vedi came out openly against the BJP leadership, leaders who oppose Rajeev Chandrasekhar are using the ‘opportunity’ cautiously.  Hindu Aikya Vedi leaders KP Sasikala and R V Babu said that exonerating the nuns even before trial is like justifying the ‘forced religious conversion’, which, according to them, is rampant in Chhattisgarh. Rajeev Chandrasekhar has earlier said that the charges against the nuns that they are engaging in forced religious conversion are incorrect. After the arrest, Rajeev Chandrasekhar visited the Thrissur Arch Bishop and president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI), Andrews Thazhath, and offered all support. This has irritated ‘extremists’ within the Sangh Parivar. RSS leader K. Govindan Kutty took to Facebook to express his anguish over the actions taken by the BJP state unit.

After taking charge as the state president of the BJP in March this year, Rajeev Chandrasekhar has been trying to refurbish the image of the party by focusing on ‘development’ issues. His supporters argue that in a state where minorities constitute more than 45 per cent of the total electorate, a pragmatic approach, and not ideological obstinacy, would only get votes. He prioritised strengthening the relationship between the Church and the saffron party.  

BJP had won its first Lok Sabha seat, from Thrissur, with the help of the Christian voters, who constitute more than 25 per cent of the total electorate. Christian voters can influence election results in several constituencies, especially in central Kerala.

Those opposing Rajeev Chandrasekhar claim that pragmatism over ideology is not an option. According to them, the steps like the one he took in the nun’s arrest case will erode core Hindutva votes. ‘Now he is acting like a pseudo-secular party leader,’ said a party insider. So far, the central leadership of the BJP has stood with Rajeev Chandrasekhar, hoping that his strategy will help the party to break the jinx in Kerala.

Even if Rajeev Chandrasekhar manages ‘enemies within,’ the question is whether a section of the Christian community who reposed their faith in the BJP will continue to do so in the upcoming elections. The central leadership of the party has set a target for the local body election.  The arrest came  when the party leadership is devising a plan to capture Thiruvanathpuram and Thrissur corporations in the local body election coming up in November. This is going to be an acid test for Rajeev Chandrasekhar and the team. 

With factionalism rearing its head with renewed vigour and suspicion created in the minds of the Christians who had supported the BJP, Rajeev Chandrasekhar is in an unenviable political situation. Though the nuns got bail, the arrest will continue to haunt the BJP in the state in the coming days, if not months.