BJP deploys Yogi Adityanath in Kerala. Malayalis ridicule him on social media

Taking on the CPI(M) in its own bastion of Kerala, the BJP fielded its Hindutva poster-boy and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath. The BJP has termed "Marxist-Jihadi violence" in the state.

Spearheading the BJP’s fortnight-long march “Janaraksha Yatra” on the second day, Adityanath trained his guns on the Pinarayi Vijayan government for allegedly patronising and pursuing politics of violence.

Launching the march in the chief minister’s home turf Kannur, BJP chief Amit Shah on Tuesday had launched a frontal attack on Vijayan holding him responsible for the killing of 120 BJP-RSS workers in Kerala since 2001.

Taking on the baton, Adityanath spoke in a similar tone.

“Our people are being killed mercilessly in this state-patronised violence. There is no place for violence in democracy and this yatra is to make people aware of that and build a movement against this politics of violence,” said Adityanath who himself faces several criminal cases including charges of attempt to murder and rioting.

“This politics of violence is a curse, the fact that murders have continued particularly in the home district of the Chief Minister (Kannur) is a curse for democracy, a curse for the people of Kerala,” he said.

He also shot back at the CPI(M) which ridiculed him over large number of crib deaths in UP’s Gorakhpur, saying he should visit Kerala hospitals to learn how to run them.

“The Kerala government should in fact learn from us about how to run hospitals. In last one year 300 deaths due to dengue have occurred in Kerala which is far more than UP. Moreover, there have been deaths due to chikungunya in Kerala while we have not a single such death in UP,” claimed Adityanath.

Accompanied by a host of BJP leaders including Union Minister Shiv Pratap Shukla and Rajya Sabha member actor Suresh Gopi, Adityanath began the march from Keecheri to Kannur town.

The push for Adityanath’s participation came from the RSS which has been intensely campaigning against the Kerala government over the killings.

The RSS has repeatedly claimed Kerala to be a IS hub alleging most Indian recruits to the terror organisation were from Kannur district.

It was RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat who set the tone for BJP’s campaign. Delivering the customary Vijaya Dashami address on 30 September, Bhagwat alleged the Kerala and the West Bengal governments of helping anti-national forces.

Besides Adityanath, a host of Union ministers and top BJP leaders are slated to participate in the march in Kerala that will conclude at Thiruvananthapuram on October 17.

On the orders of Shah, the party will be taking out such marches in various state capitals.
In pursuance of Shah’s call, a protest march was also held in the national capital outside the CPI(M) headquarters.

Led by Union minister Jitendra Singh, Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari and party veteran Vijay Goel, protestors shouted slogans and denounced CPI(M).

“We have taken upon ourselves to prevent the CPI(M) from institutionalising the culture of violence,” said Singh.

The BJP’s massive campaign is aimed at denting the Left bastion. Hoping to emerge as an alternative to the Left Democratic Front and the Congress-led United Democratic Front, the saffron brigade has been hardselling its crusade against alleged “Jihadi violence”.

Even as it continues to expand its base across the length and breadth of the country, BJP’s cow and Hindutva politics has not found many takers in the southern state, despite a strong presence of the RSS.

In its bid to reach out to Hindus and Christians, the RSS-BJP has been harping on the danger of 'love jihad', where non-Muslim women are allegedly lured into relationships with Muslim men with the underlining motive of forceful conversion to Islam.

The BJP-RSS made 'love jihad' a major issue in the state after the Kerala High Court in 2016 annulled the marriage of Akhila Ashokan aka Hadiya, who is a Hindu by birth, to a Muslim man.

But with revelations that Hadiya’s conversion to Islam and her marriage to Jahan was voluntary, the apex court has now not just questioned the High Court’s power to invalidate the marriage, it has also agreed to hear the plea of revoking the NIA probe order.

In the wake of SC’s latest observation in the case, it was decided to field Adityanath who has been leading a caustic campaign against 'love jihad' in Uttar Pradesh. The BJP scripted a massive victory in the state riding on communal polarisation with 'love jihad' being major plank of its campaign.

Adityanath had earlier exhorted Hindus to marry a hundred Muslim women for every Hindu woman marrying a Muslim.

Interacting with media persons in Kerala, Adityanath did not fail to rake up the 'love jihad' issue.