Is Amit Shah losing the plot in Kerala?

The BJP is losing its face in Kerala and that is the word on the ground. Most agree BJP’s plan of divisive politics being followed in the rest of the country is failing in Kerala.

Maybe these are the hazards of playing gross politics in a state known for its high literacy rate and political awareness. BJP might have won its first Assembly seat in Kerala in 2016, but in the April by-elections in Malappuram in Kerala, BJP lost its vote share, despite having poured in considerable amount of money into the district. Should Amit Shah stop flying to Kerala every few months?

“Every issue that the BJP has raked up in Kerala, citizens and other parties have been able to prove them to be false. They seem to be ready to do anything to stay in the limelight in the state,” said MB Rajesh, CPM Member of Parliament.

The recent killing in Thiruvanthapuram of Rajesh Edavacode, said to be a RSS activist, turned out to be the result of a gang war which was given a political hue and “there are police records to show the same”. The RSS activist turned out to be a petty criminal.

As soon as Jaitley came to visit the home of the slain RSS worker, cries grew around for the Finance Minister to visit the home of the CPM workers slain by RSS. But, their cries fell on deaf ears.

The BJP leadership had decided to make a hue and cry of the killing in the back drop of the medical college bribery allegations and the subsequent leakage of an internal inquiry report which had cornered the state BJP leaders. It was alleged that Varkala-based SR Medical College had given ₹5.6 crore to a Yuva Morcha leader and BJP co-operative cell convener RS Vinod for getting the college sanction from the Medical Council of India. It was alleged that the money was paid in Delhi through hawala.

A leaked BJP internal probe report confirmed the involvement of BJP state general secretary MT Ramesh in another medical college scam, but the committee did not probe the issue. A Vigilance probe into the issue has begun.

Close on the heels of the medical college scam, a case was filed against Kozhikode BJP zonal secretary MP Rajan for duping a party colleague with the promise of a job in the Army. It was alleged that Rajan had taken ₹1.4 lakh from S Aswath.

In another embarrassing case, BJP Yuva Morcha’s Rajesh Ezhacherry was arrested in June after the police recovered fake currencies worth ₹1. 37 lakh and currency-printing machine from his house in Thrissur district. His brother Rakesh is the secretary of BJP’s OBC Morcha in the district. The brothers had begun lending money after demonetisation to make a quick buck.

“BJP Minority Morcha national vice-president Aslam Gurukkal, who is also a trustee of the India Islamic Centre, was booked for allegedly attempting to kidnap NRI businessman KT Rabeebullah, chairman of Shifa Al Jazeera Medical Group, at gunpoint,” added Rajesh. The police had apprehended all the seven accused and they were remanded to judicial custody.

Factionalism within the BJP came to the fore when two BJP factions in Kozhikode came to blows demanding action against those who were involved in the alleged creation of fake receipts during the BJP National Council held in Kozhikode last year. Sasikumar, who was also a BJP booth president, was allegedly attacked for having spoken to the media that fake receipts had been distributed to a gas agency and at the MHES college.

Following the footsteps of the Central leadership, BJP Kerala chief Kummanam Rajasekharan had, in May, posted a video claiming that it was CPM workers celebrating the death of an RSS worker. “It was eventually found out to be a fake video of people celebrating after a football match,” said a senior journalist from Kerala. A case was registered against him under IPC section 153.