The BJP gets it wrong in Kerala, again
The national party will not be able to expand in the state if it tries to put its own spin on festivals like Onam
The BJP is like the Indian cricket team: It is led by an able leadership, has some good match-winners in the middle order and is hard to beat on its home turf. If provided with “home conditions” when playing abroad, its winning chances improve. And, its weaknesses are exposed when playing down south, on a bouncy pitch.
For the BJP, the home turf is the northern states, where it is a force to reckon with. “Home conditions” in states like Jammu & Kashmir and Assam have seen it even form governments. But the party’s weaknesses have been repeatedly exposed when in the south.
The latest example of this is BJP chief Amit Shah’s “Vamana Jayanti” greeting a day before Thiruvonam, the main day of the Onam festival. While traditionally Onam celebrates the return of the Asura king Mahabali, Shah chose to focus on Vamana, an avatar of Vishnu, who sent Mahabali to the underworld. Talk about getting caught playing a wide ball!
On the face of it celebrating Vamana should not be a problem, but Shah’s greeting is seen as effort to communalise an otherwise secular and cultural festival.
The displeasure towards Shah’s greeting was evident with the hashtag “PoMone Shahji” trending on Twitter on Tuesday. “Po Mone” in Malayalam, loosely translated, means “you go” or, is a rude way of asking someone to leave.
While Onam is celebrated by everyone, “Vamana Jayanti” restricts it to Hindus — from a secular festival it becomes a Hindu festival. Shah posted Onam greetings on Wednesday morning, but it appeared more like an afterthought.
If the BJP is trying to expand in Kerala, it should not contest popular traditions and festivals. You don’t make friends by antagonising them. Sledging can be counterproductive — ask Andrew Flintoff.
Shah was probably misled about the BJP’s chances in Kerala. He seems to be getting the wrong advice now as well. The party should abandon a one-size-fits-all approach. The squads for a T20 and Test are seldom the same.
One of the lessons the BJP can learn from the Congress is to give its regional leaders relative freedom. This would mean that the party adapt its stand accommodate regional sensitivities. It should also shun efforts to homogenise regional festival — the BJP will be doing great disservice to the people of Kerala and to India’s myriad traditions if it tries to convert Onam into Vamana Jayanti.
That the state leadership was not in sync with 11 Ashoka Road was evident in its tepid enthusiasm to the controversy. Reacting to Shah’s greeting, Kummanam Rajasekharan, the Kerala BJP chief, said that he on his part had wished everyone a “Happy Onam”. He tried to justify Shah’s greeting by saying that the BJP president has initiated a debate, not a controversy. His poor defence betrayed his helplessness.
A good way for the BJP to make inroads into Kerala, and work to become the “third alternative” in the state, is to focus on development — the mantra on which Modi came to power in 2014. For all the positive social indices it shows, Kerala has an equal (or more) number of pressing issues that neither the Congress-led UDF nor the CPI(M)-led LDF addresses, like public health, waste management, water conservation, law and order, especially women’s safety.
The BJP is misreading the wicket in Kerala, or it is simply too confident. Either way, it’s embarrassing itself.