BJP reaches out to Christian community in poll-bound Kerala

Kochi, Mar 01: The BJP on Monday reached out to minority Christians in poll-bound Kerala on Monday with senior party leader and deputy chief minister of Karnataka C N Ashwath Narayan meeting a senior Catholic priest seeking to "gain the confidence" of the community.

Besides Narayan, BJP state chief K Surendran, who is leading the party''s "Vijay Yatra", also met Syro-Malabar Church head Cardinal George Alencherry separately today morning at the Bishops Council headquarters here, sources said.

Narayan said he met the Cardinal as the party wanted to sort out the communication gap with the Church.

"Lot of communication gap which we want to sort out and ensure that we gain the confidence of the Christian community," he said.

Narayan, who had a personal conversation with the Cardinal, said the party wanted to "erase" whatever differences were there with the Christian community and "ensure we get complete cooperation".

Sources said Surendran, who met the Cardinal ahead of Narayan''s visit, had a breakfast with priests at the KCBC headquarters on Monday morning.

He also held a personal meeting with Cardinal, they said.

The BJP''s move to reach out to Christians ahead of the crucial polls came as the community has got significant influence in a number of constituencies, particularly central Kerala.

The meeting also came close on the heels of some top Catholic priests meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi in January.

Three Cardinals of the Church, including Alencherry, had an interaction with Modi on January 19 during which the PM responded positively to the church''s long standing demand for extending an invitation to the Pope to visit India.

"He (the prime minister) may be looking for an appropriate time," Cardinal Alencherry had said, responding to a query on the demand placed before the prime minister.