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Kerala CPI wakes up to BJP threat

Trivandrum - Party secretary Kanam Rajendran's call for a review of the secularism being practised by the Left parties is seen as an indication of the growing realisation in the Left camp.

A section of the Left parties in Kerala have started waking up to the threat posed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to their electoral prospects in the state.
State Communist Party of India (CPI) secretary Kanam Rajendran's call for a review of the secularism being practised by the Left parties is seen as an indication of the growing realisation in the Left camp that they will go the West Bengal way if they do not prevent the march of the BJP in the state.
The senior CPI leader made the call in the wake of the defeat of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) candidate in the recently held assembly by-election at Aruvikkara in Trivandrum district. The CPI itself was pushed to third position in the Trivandrum Lok Sabha constitution in the general election last year. On both the occasions the BJP had substantially increased its vote share.
While the party came second in the Lok Sabha election by polling 282,336 votes it increased its vote share at Aruvikkara by more than three times even though it had to contend with the third position.
The seasoned CPI leader apparently believes that the ascendance of BJP will pose a major threat to the Left parties.
He feels that the Hindus, who traditionally supported the Left parties, were consolidating behind the BJP because of their apprehension that the latter was appeasing the minorities in tune with its national stand on safeguarding secularism in the country.
The CPI leader says that the ground realities in Kerala were becoming different now with the majority community in the state turning minorities fast. Though the caste and religion -wise data of the 2011 census is yet to be released, the CPI leader projects an eight percent fall in Hindu population from 52% cent in 2001.
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