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Influential Christian Priest to Support BJP in Kerala, But Only If...
Influential Christian Priest to Support BJP in Kerala, But Only If...
Sputnik India
The BJP has a negligible presence in Kerala - the party has no representation in the legislative assembly and parliament from the state.
2023-03-20T18:22+0530
2023-03-20T18:22+0530
2023-03-20T18:22+0530
political affairs
bharatiya janata party (bjp)
kerala
narendra modi
elections
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An influential Catholic priest from Kerala has promised to support the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in winning a parliamentary seat from their state in the 2024 national elections. But, he says, it can be possible only under one condition.The federal government will have to raise the price of rubber procured by central organizations to ₹300 ($3.63) per kg, says Mar Joseph Pamplany, archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church, Thalassery city, in north Kerala.If implemented, the archbishop's suggestion would see the price of natural rubber being doubled in the state. It is currently selling at a price of ₹130 ($1.57) and ₹150 ($1.82) per kg.Kerala BJP chief K. Surendran welcomed his statement, before adding that the Narendra Modi government would look into his suggestion positively.On the other hand, V. Muraleedharan, junior foreign minister and one of the BJP's top leaders in Kerala, slammed the state's Left Front government and the main opposition party Congress for criticizing the archbishop over his favorable views about the federally governing political outfit.Notably, the Catholic priest's offer comes at a time when the BJP is gearing up for the 2024 national polls where Prime Minister Modi will seek a third straight term in office.The party has zero MPs from Kerala and has no legislators in the state assembly. Despite a massive pro-Modi mandate in 2019, the BJP failed to win a single seat from Kerala's 20 parliamentary seats, with the Congress and its allies bagging 14, while the Left pocketed the rest.
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Influential Christian Priest to Support BJP in Kerala, But Only If...
The BJP has a negligible presence in Kerala. The party has no representation either in the legislative assembly or the parliament from the southern India state.
An influential Catholic priest from Kerala has promised to support the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in winning a parliamentary seat from their state in the 2024 national elections. But, he says, it can be possible only under one condition.
The federal government will have to raise the price of rubber procured by central organizations to ₹300 ($3.63) per kg, says Mar Joseph Pamplany, archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church, Thalassery city, in north Kerala.
"If the Union government raises the price of rubber, the church will naturally help the BJP to elect a member of parliament from the state," Pamplany stated during a Catholic farmers' conference on Sunday.
If implemented, the archbishop's suggestion would see the price of natural rubber being doubled in the state. It is currently selling at a price of ₹130 ($1.57) and ₹150 ($1.82) per kg.
Kerala BJP chief K. Surendran welcomed his statement, before adding that the Narendra Modi government would look into his suggestion positively.
On the other hand, V. Muraleedharan, junior foreign minister and one of the BJP's top leaders in Kerala, slammed the state's Left Front government and the main opposition party Congress for criticizing the archbishop over his favorable views about the federally governing political outfit.
"Are the CPI(M) and the Congress saying they (Christian priests) don't have the freedom to express their views if they indirectly support the government of India? It is a ridiculous situation that both these parties claim to be pro-minorities, but if Christian leaders speak some facts which may favor the government of India, then they pounce upon them," Muraleedharan said in a press conference on Monday.
Notably, the Catholic priest's offer comes at a time when the BJP is gearing up for the 2024 national polls where Prime Minister Modi will seek a third straight term in office.
The party has zero MPs from Kerala and has no legislators in the state assembly. Despite a massive pro-Modi mandate in 2019, the BJP failed to win a single seat from Kerala's 20 parliamentary seats, with the Congress and its allies bagging 14, while the Left pocketed the rest.
