Being the state president of the BJP in Kerala is not exactly an enviable position. For, the state is one of the few spaces in the whole country where the party is yet to get a foothold. K Surendran, however, exudes confidence about his party’s future prospects. He insists that state politics is going through a drastic churn and is certain that BJP will be one of the fronts in the bipolar contest. He also tells who will be on the other side… Excerpts
It has been more than two years since you took over as the president of Kerala BJP. What have you achieved?
The biggest achievement is the structural change we have brought in to make the party more vibrant. We have formed 280 mandalam committees, and 20% of the office-bearers are fresh faces. Also, the presidents of 22 mandalam committees are women. The presidents of 11 mandalam committees belong to the Christian community, and one mandalam president is a Muslim. Our party network is active in 15,000 of the 25,000 booths in the state.
The BJP central leadership seems to trust you a lot… We ask this question because you have managed to retain the position of party president despite losing its lone seat in the 2021 assembly elections.
I don’t have the backing of any powerful lobby. Besides, BJP does not work that way. If anyone tries to lobby for themselves, they will find themselves on a sticky wicket. The BJP central leadership is very much clued-up about what is happening in each state. That is why the central leadership doesn’t go by media reports or other propaganda. A state president can lose the position at any time.
Kerala is still insurmountable for the BJP… What are your major challenges?
Kerala is no longer insurmountable. Our presence here is increasing every day. But there are challenges, and the biggest one is that the voters here are used to bipolar politics. The drawback for BJP is the inability to form a strong alliance. Another reason is the lack of support from minority communities. Without the support of minorities, the BJP’s prospects are bleak. The only other chance is a strong polarisation on communal lines, which is not possible in Kerala. So we are working on forming alliances and also attracting minorities, especially Christians.
But there has been no visible progress in winning over various sections of Christian voters, except a few photo-ops with some Church leaders…
Not really. We are steadily working on it and are sensing a visible change in the approach of Christian communities.
What kind of changes?
The community has become very insecure these days, as more countries are becoming Islamic. In Kerala, the influence of PFI was a huge concern for Christians. It was the Christian community which was more elated than the Hindu community about the ban on PFI. The PFI ban has boosted the confidence of Christians. The community has also realised that Congress has no future in Kerala or nationally. This has opened more avenues of interaction between the BJP and the Christian community.
You are writing off the Congress… Is it that easy?
The Congress will lose whatever relevance it has once the results of the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh elections are out. The statement by Kerala Pradesh Congress president K Sudhakaran is not isolated. A sense of insecurity is growing among Congressmen.
But not a single leader has defected to the BJP in Kerala…
There is no flow of leaders from Congress to BJP in Kerala, like in other states, just because we are not in power. Six Congress MPs have told me that they are not contesting in the next Lok Sabha polls. That shows the insecurities of the leaders. We have no doubt that Congress will weaken further in Kerala.
The BJP even lost the deposit in the Thrikkakara bypoll. Isn’t it shameful for a party ruling the country?
If the wife of a popular leader is fielded in the by-election following his demise, naturally she will win. Congress fielded Uma to cash in on the sympathy wave. The Thrikkakara bypoll was totally irrelevant, as the victory of either UDF or LDF would not create any impact in state politics.
We have been hearing a lot of rumours about K Sudhakaran joining the BJP for some time now. Is there any truth in these speculations? Have there been any talks or any approach by Sudhakaran to the BJP or vice-versa?
Why only Sudhakaran? A number of Congress leaders are in touch with us.
But nothing is happening…
It is only because the BJP is not in power in Kerala. But, the environment is slowly becoming conducive for such a flow to the BJP. It will happen in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, or after the elections. There will be a big churn in the Congress and Kerala politics around 2024.
Like…?
Do you know what is happening in IUML? A section within Muslim League clamours for joining the LDF. IUML cannot afford to be out of power for long. Earlier, the last word in IUML was the Panakkad family. However, after the deaths of Syed Muhammedali Shihab Thangal and Syed Hyder Ali Shihab Thangal, there are differences within the party on whether to join LDF or not. And, there is also a thought within the Panakkad family that ‘why should we stay away from parliamentary politics’. The only question is whether it would happen before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections or after that.
But will LDF accept IUML?
The Marxist party is taking advantage of these developments, and trying its best to bring them into the LDF camp. Earlier, there was strong opposition to this move by CPI. Now, CPI, under Kanam Rajendran, has completely surrendered to the CPM. So, I don’t see any opposition by CPI to Muslim League’s entry into LDF.
Even if IUML becomes a part of LDF, how will it help the BJP?
There is no UDF without IUML. Congress will not survive without IUML.
We are reminded of your famous statement during the last assembly election that BJP would rule Kerala with 35 seats…
I accept that it did not happen. But the 35 seats I mentioned still have a crucial presence for BJP. In nine seats, we ended in the second position, and then you calculate the seats where we ended up in third place with small margins. In constituencies where we got 35,000 and 45,000 votes, it’s not difficult to get another 10,000-20,000 more votes. Now, I’ll give the statistics from the last local body polls. We have a total of 20,000 wards, we won 1,600 seats, in 2,630 seats we ended in the second position, and in 1,000-odd seats, we ended in the third position, where the margin was 10-50-odd votes. You do the math, we are 1/3rd in Kerala. Which party can get such voter support pan-Kerala, other than the CPM? All other states have gone to bipolar politics. A similar story is emerging in Kerala.
The point that you have said is right. Bipolar politics is happening in every state in the country. If we consider the BJP on one side, which party, according to you, will be on the other?
You can be sure that on one side it will be the BJP. As per the present political scenario, I foresee a big downfall of Congress. The reason? The Muslim League, at least a section of it, will join LDF soon and, once that happens, then there will be no UDF.
Who is your main enemy? Is it the Congress or the CPM?
Our real fight in Kerala will be with the LDF because it is an ideological battle. Congress does not even deserve to be considered an enemy. The party is taking its dying breath.
How long will it take according to you?
It is just a matter of time. The ground for it will be ready after the 2024 elections.
BJP is seen to be ignoring the Muslim community as a whole in other states. But in Kerala, the community is powerful socially, economically and politically…
It is wrong to say that BJP ignores the Muslim community. Our national leadership has a close equation with Muslim leaders. For the first time, we have made a Muslim leader from Kerala the chairman of the Haj committee. The equation between us and the Muslim community is changing here, too. The BJP has received an invitation to attend the Mujaheed meeting, which is going to happen in December in Kozhikode. That is a first in history.
The factionalism within the state BJP is quite rampant…
(Laughs…) There is no truth in these allegations. These allegations always come up whenever a new president takes charge of the BJP state unit. Over what matters the leaders of the BJP state unit fight each other? What is there to fight for?
What is Suresh Gopi’s status in the party?
Suresh Gopi performed well as an MP and has received appreciation from the people, party high command, and the state party unit. He is actively working for the party.
Has he been inducted into the party’s core committee?
The core committee has not been reconstituted. The party central committee has not sought any proposal regarding the rejig of the core committee.
Leaders like M T Ramesh are not seen in the forefront these days. Why so?
M T Ramesh is still the general secretary of the party, and he is actively taking part in organisational meetings and other programmes. You people are not giving him any coverage. I have not sidelined anybody.
In 2016, the BJP campaigned to defeat the LDF. But in 2021, even BJP sympathisers voted for LDF…
The local body polls and assembly elections were held during the Covid time. The chief minister had been projected as a person capable of managing the pandemic situation. Besides, he created a scare among the people, especially in the Muslim community that BJP was emerging as a big force. Also, the entry of P A Mohamed Riyas into the family of Pinarayi Vijayan has led to the widespread acceptance for Pinarayi among the Muslim community. The LDF garnered a major chunk of the Muslim vote share. However, this is not a political situation that prevails forever. It will change.
There is a rumour that Priyanka Gandhi would contest in Ernakulam, and Rahul Gandhi is already in Kerala. Isn’t there a possibility of the 2019 Lok Sabha election result repeating in 2024?
Are you saying that another disaster is going to come to Kerala? By doing so, they will get exposed before the public. It would be better if their mother seeks refuge in Kerala. Because Sonia Gandhi is going to lose her current constituency in the next election. BJP will win there.
During the first Pinarayi government tenure, you were the vocal opposition in Kerala. But now your position has been taken over by the governor…
The governor gets more prominence because of his position. He is an authority in matters related to universities.
There have been flaws on the part of the state government. But don’t you think the governor’s overreaction at times is taking away the seriousness of the matter?
The state government is giving no respect to the post of governor.
But to say that a 90-year-old Irfaan Habib tried to attack him is too much…
Protests are not permitted in the programme attended by the Indian President and governors. Action like waving the black flag is not permitted against the president, prime minister and governors. Did the state government conduct an investigation after the first citizen of the state claimed that there was an attempt to manhandle him at a programme? When police went to block protestors, K K Ragesh was seen blocking the police.
It was Gujarat that first removed the governor from the universities’ chancellor post, when Narendra Modi was the chief minister there. If such a decision can be implemented in Gujarat, why not in Kerala?
The Supreme Court order clearly states that UGC norms should be followed. The current court judgments also support the governor’s stand. No doubt that these nine vice-chancellors will have to resign soon. People who were appointed as vice-chancellors, without following UGC norms, will have to resign.
NSS holds a crucial position in the Hindu community. But it continues to be a pro-Congress body. Why did the BJP fail to attract the NSS?
A major part of our vote share is from NSS members. We are focusing on receiving votes from people of all sections, not just from members of organisations.
There are conspiracy theories that Pinarayi Vijayan is close to BJP leadership. What is the truth?
I don’t know why such a narrative is in circulation. That is baseless. Congress leaders allege that strict action has not been taken against Pinarayi Vijayan in the gold smuggling case. The Central agencies do not probe cases as the state police do. It has been eight years since the probe against Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi started. But Rahul Gandhi was summoned for interrogation only recently. Why should we show leniency to Pinarayi Vijayan?
The Congress points out that the Lavalin case has seen 33 adjournments in the Supreme Court as an example of this ‘secret understanding’ between Pinarayi and the BJP leadership…
It is the Supreme court which takes decisions in these matters. The BJP has no role in that. It was Congress that toppled the Lavalin case by taking a stand to discharge Pinarayi Vijayan without a trial. In fact, we are the ones who filed an appeal against the decision. It was A K Antony, Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh and Vayalar Ravi’s son-in-law Purushothaman who helped Pinarayi Vijayan in the Lavalin case. Now V D Satheesan is claiming that the BJP is doing adjustments. BJP has no adjustment policy. The case will be held when the time comes.
Another stumbling block before BJP, many feel, is the issue of beef… Parotta and beef is one of the most popular food combos in Kerala…
We are not against beef consumption, and we never asked for the ban. All we said was that killing cows hurt the sentiments of a major section of people in society. A Congress leader killed a cow at a public market and distributed its meat. We are against such action.
The Sabarimala controversy was indeed a golden opportunity for BJP. But while BJP got all flogging from the police, it was Congress that garnered all the anti-CPM votes…
The first priority of the voters then was to teach Pinarayi Vijayan a lesson. They voted for Congress because people thought it had a better chance.
But that trend continues even now…
That situation will change after 2024. If Rahul Gandhi hadn’t contested the elections from here, the demise of Congress would have been even faster. His presence pumped some oxygen into the flailing party.
Is it that easy to wish away Congress?
Let’s talk about this after 2024… (Chuckles)
Being the state president of the BJP in Kerala is not exactly an enviable position. For, the state is one of the few spaces in the whole country where the party is yet to get a foothold. K Surendran, however, exudes confidence about his party’s future prospects. He insists that state politics is going through a drastic churn and is certain that BJP will be one of the fronts in the bipolar contest. He also tells who will be on the other side… Excerpts
It has been more than two years since you took over as the president of Kerala BJP. What have you achieved?
The biggest achievement is the structural change we have brought in to make the party more vibrant. We have formed 280 mandalam committees, and 20% of the office-bearers are fresh faces. Also, the presidents of 22 mandalam committees are women. The presidents of 11 mandalam committees belong to the Christian community, and one mandalam president is a Muslim. Our party network is active in 15,000 of the 25,000 booths in the state.
The BJP central leadership seems to trust you a lot… We ask this question because you have managed to retain the position of party president despite losing its lone seat in the 2021 assembly elections.
I don’t have the backing of any powerful lobby. Besides, BJP does not work that way. If anyone tries to lobby for themselves, they will find themselves on a sticky wicket. The BJP central leadership is very much clued-up about what is happening in each state. That is why the central leadership doesn’t go by media reports or other propaganda. A state president can lose the position at any time.
Kerala is still insurmountable for the BJP… What are your major challenges?
Kerala is no longer insurmountable. Our presence here is increasing every day. But there are challenges, and the biggest one is that the voters here are used to bipolar politics. The drawback for BJP is the inability to form a strong alliance. Another reason is the lack of support from minority communities. Without the support of minorities, the BJP’s prospects are bleak. The only other chance is a strong polarisation on communal lines, which is not possible in Kerala. So we are working on forming alliances and also attracting minorities, especially Christians.
But there has been no visible progress in winning over various sections of Christian voters, except a few photo-ops with some Church leaders…
Not really. We are steadily working on it and are sensing a visible change in the approach of Christian communities.
What kind of changes?
The community has become very insecure these days, as more countries are becoming Islamic. In Kerala, the influence of PFI was a huge concern for Christians. It was the Christian community which was more elated than the Hindu community about the ban on PFI. The PFI ban has boosted the confidence of Christians. The community has also realised that Congress has no future in Kerala or nationally. This has opened more avenues of interaction between the BJP and the Christian community.
You are writing off the Congress… Is it that easy?
The Congress will lose whatever relevance it has once the results of the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh elections are out. The statement by Kerala Pradesh Congress president K Sudhakaran is not isolated. A sense of insecurity is growing among Congressmen.
But not a single leader has defected to the BJP in Kerala…
There is no flow of leaders from Congress to BJP in Kerala, like in other states, just because we are not in power. Six Congress MPs have told me that they are not contesting in the next Lok Sabha polls. That shows the insecurities of the leaders. We have no doubt that Congress will weaken further in Kerala.
The BJP even lost the deposit in the Thrikkakara bypoll. Isn’t it shameful for a party ruling the country?
If the wife of a popular leader is fielded in the by-election following his demise, naturally she will win. Congress fielded Uma to cash in on the sympathy wave. The Thrikkakara bypoll was totally irrelevant, as the victory of either UDF or LDF would not create any impact in state politics.
We have been hearing a lot of rumours about K Sudhakaran joining the BJP for some time now. Is there any truth in these speculations? Have there been any talks or any approach by Sudhakaran to the BJP or vice-versa?
Why only Sudhakaran? A number of Congress leaders are in touch with us.
But nothing is happening…
It is only because the BJP is not in power in Kerala. But, the environment is slowly becoming conducive for such a flow to the BJP. It will happen in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, or after the elections. There will be a big churn in the Congress and Kerala politics around 2024.
Like…?
Do you know what is happening in IUML? A section within Muslim League clamours for joining the LDF. IUML cannot afford to be out of power for long. Earlier, the last word in IUML was the Panakkad family. However, after the deaths of Syed Muhammedali Shihab Thangal and Syed Hyder Ali Shihab Thangal, there are differences within the party on whether to join LDF or not. And, there is also a thought within the Panakkad family that ‘why should we stay away from parliamentary politics’. The only question is whether it would happen before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections or after that.
But will LDF accept IUML?
The Marxist party is taking advantage of these developments, and trying its best to bring them into the LDF camp. Earlier, there was strong opposition to this move by CPI. Now, CPI, under Kanam Rajendran, has completely surrendered to the CPM. So, I don’t see any opposition by CPI to Muslim League’s entry into LDF.
Even if IUML becomes a part of LDF, how will it help the BJP?
There is no UDF without IUML. Congress will not survive without IUML.
We are reminded of your famous statement during the last assembly election that BJP would rule Kerala with 35 seats…
I accept that it did not happen. But the 35 seats I mentioned still have a crucial presence for BJP. In nine seats, we ended in the second position, and then you calculate the seats where we ended up in third place with small margins. In constituencies where we got 35,000 and 45,000 votes, it’s not difficult to get another 10,000-20,000 more votes. Now, I’ll give the statistics from the last local body polls. We have a total of 20,000 wards, we won 1,600 seats, in 2,630 seats we ended in the second position, and in 1,000-odd seats, we ended in the third position, where the margin was 10-50-odd votes. You do the math, we are 1/3rd in Kerala. Which party can get such voter support pan-Kerala, other than the CPM? All other states have gone to bipolar politics. A similar story is emerging in Kerala.
The point that you have said is right. Bipolar politics is happening in every state in the country. If we consider the BJP on one side, which party, according to you, will be on the other?
You can be sure that on one side it will be the BJP. As per the present political scenario, I foresee a big downfall of Congress. The reason? The Muslim League, at least a section of it, will join LDF soon and, once that happens, then there will be no UDF.
Who is your main enemy? Is it the Congress or the CPM?
Our real fight in Kerala will be with the LDF because it is an ideological battle. Congress does not even deserve to be considered an enemy. The party is taking its dying breath.
How long will it take according to you?
It is just a matter of time. The ground for it will be ready after the 2024 elections.
BJP is seen to be ignoring the Muslim community as a whole in other states. But in Kerala, the community is powerful socially, economically and politically…
It is wrong to say that BJP ignores the Muslim community. Our national leadership has a close equation with Muslim leaders. For the first time, we have made a Muslim leader from Kerala the chairman of the Haj committee. The equation between us and the Muslim community is changing here, too. The BJP has received an invitation to attend the Mujaheed meeting, which is going to happen in December in Kozhikode. That is a first in history.
The factionalism within the state BJP is quite rampant…
(Laughs…) There is no truth in these allegations. These allegations always come up whenever a new president takes charge of the BJP state unit. Over what matters the leaders of the BJP state unit fight each other? What is there to fight for?
What is Suresh Gopi’s status in the party?
Suresh Gopi performed well as an MP and has received appreciation from the people, party high command, and the state party unit. He is actively working for the party.
Has he been inducted into the party’s core committee?
The core committee has not been reconstituted. The party central committee has not sought any proposal regarding the rejig of the core committee.
Leaders like M T Ramesh are not seen in the forefront these days. Why so?
M T Ramesh is still the general secretary of the party, and he is actively taking part in organisational meetings and other programmes. You people are not giving him any coverage. I have not sidelined anybody.
In 2016, the BJP campaigned to defeat the LDF. But in 2021, even BJP sympathisers voted for LDF…
The local body polls and assembly elections were held during the Covid time. The chief minister had been projected as a person capable of managing the pandemic situation. Besides, he created a scare among the people, especially in the Muslim community that BJP was emerging as a big force. Also, the entry of P A Mohamed Riyas into the family of Pinarayi Vijayan has led to the widespread acceptance for Pinarayi among the Muslim community. The LDF garnered a major chunk of the Muslim vote share. However, this is not a political situation that prevails forever. It will change.
There is a rumour that Priyanka Gandhi would contest in Ernakulam, and Rahul Gandhi is already in Kerala. Isn’t there a possibility of the 2019 Lok Sabha election result repeating in 2024?
Are you saying that another disaster is going to come to Kerala? By doing so, they will get exposed before the public. It would be better if their mother seeks refuge in Kerala. Because Sonia Gandhi is going to lose her current constituency in the next election. BJP will win there.
During the first Pinarayi government tenure, you were the vocal opposition in Kerala. But now your position has been taken over by the governor…
The governor gets more prominence because of his position. He is an authority in matters related to universities.
There have been flaws on the part of the state government. But don’t you think the governor’s overreaction at times is taking away the seriousness of the matter?
The state government is giving no respect to the post of governor.
But to say that a 90-year-old Irfaan Habib tried to attack him is too much…
Protests are not permitted in the programme attended by the Indian President and governors. Action like waving the black flag is not permitted against the president, prime minister and governors. Did the state government conduct an investigation after the first citizen of the state claimed that there was an attempt to manhandle him at a programme? When police went to block protestors, K K Ragesh was seen blocking the police.
It was Gujarat that first removed the governor from the universities’ chancellor post, when Narendra Modi was the chief minister there. If such a decision can be implemented in Gujarat, why not in Kerala?
The Supreme Court order clearly states that UGC norms should be followed. The current court judgments also support the governor’s stand. No doubt that these nine vice-chancellors will have to resign soon. People who were appointed as vice-chancellors, without following UGC norms, will have to resign.
NSS holds a crucial position in the Hindu community. But it continues to be a pro-Congress body. Why did the BJP fail to attract the NSS?
A major part of our vote share is from NSS members. We are focusing on receiving votes from people of all sections, not just from members of organisations.
There are conspiracy theories that Pinarayi Vijayan is close to BJP leadership. What is the truth?
I don’t know why such a narrative is in circulation. That is baseless. Congress leaders allege that strict action has not been taken against Pinarayi Vijayan in the gold smuggling case. The Central agencies do not probe cases as the state police do. It has been eight years since the probe against Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi started. But Rahul Gandhi was summoned for interrogation only recently. Why should we show leniency to Pinarayi Vijayan?
The Congress points out that the Lavalin case has seen 33 adjournments in the Supreme Court as an example of this ‘secret understanding’ between Pinarayi and the BJP leadership…
It is the Supreme court which takes decisions in these matters. The BJP has no role in that. It was Congress that toppled the Lavalin case by taking a stand to discharge Pinarayi Vijayan without a trial. In fact, we are the ones who filed an appeal against the decision. It was A K Antony, Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh and Vayalar Ravi’s son-in-law Purushothaman who helped Pinarayi Vijayan in the Lavalin case. Now V D Satheesan is claiming that the BJP is doing adjustments. BJP has no adjustment policy. The case will be held when the time comes.
Another stumbling block before BJP, many feel, is the issue of beef… Parotta and beef is one of the most popular food combos in Kerala…
We are not against beef consumption, and we never asked for the ban. All we said was that killing cows hurt the sentiments of a major section of people in society. A Congress leader killed a cow at a public market and distributed its meat. We are against such action.
The Sabarimala controversy was indeed a golden opportunity for BJP. But while BJP got all flogging from the police, it was Congress that garnered all the anti-CPM votes…
The first priority of the voters then was to teach Pinarayi Vijayan a lesson. They voted for Congress because people thought it had a better chance.
But that trend continues even now…
That situation will change after 2024. If Rahul Gandhi hadn’t contested the elections from here, the demise of Congress would have been even faster. His presence pumped some oxygen into the flailing party.
Is it that easy to wish away Congress?
Let’s talk about this after 2024… (Chuckles)