Waqf Law: BJP preparing to increase its penetration among Christians; special strategy for 13 Christian-dominated states including Kerala

Although the situation is not clear due to the Supreme Court's stance on the Waqf Amendment Act, the BJP feels that this law will prove to be a bigger game changer for it in Christian-dominated states than in Muslim-dominated states. The party's strategists believe that due to this law, its penetration among the country's second-largest minority community, the Christians, will increase, the effect of which will be visible in South India, Northeast India, Goa, and Mumbai. This is the reason why, while the party has started the Waqf Reform Janjagran Abhiyan from Sunday to woo the Pasmanda Muslims, it has started a series of Christian Harmony meetings in selected districts of 13 states dominated by this community to woo the Christians.

A senior party leader associated with this campaign said that the litmus test of this law will be in Kerala where the population of this community is about 18.4 percent. Municipal elections are likely here in December and assembly elections in April next year. The Christians of this state are the most affected by the arbitrariness of the Waqf Board and Council. Especially the results of the municipal elections will tell us what effect this law had on the Christian community. Apart from this, it will also have a litmus test in the BMC elections likely this year, where the population of this community is about 4 percent.

That's why there was a need.

This is also related to the possibilities of expansion of the BJP. One-third of the Christian population lives in South India, Goa, and Mumbai. Apart from this, Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya, and Manipur in the Northeast are Christian-dominated, while in Arunachal Pradesh, with 30 percent of the population, this community plays an important role in deciding the mandate. Assembly and BMC elections are to be held in Tamil Nadu, where the population of this community is about six percent, and Mumbai, where its population is about 3.5%.

Eye on tribal-dominated states too

Apart from these states, the party will also organize Christian harmony meetings on a large scale in tribal-dominated states like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, which are the base of Christians. The party strategists believe that the number of Christian community is quite good in many districts of these tribal-dominated states. The tribals of these states converted to Christianity decades ago. Christians in these states have also faced difficulties due to the old Waqf law.