With Anil Antony’s entry, BJP pushes for Christian outreach in Kerala, K'taka

The move by the Bharatiya Janata Party to welcome Anil Antony, the son of Congressman, A K Antony is aimed at its Christian outreach in the state of Kerala. The BJP has been reaching out to the Christian population in Kerala for long in a bid to boost its prospects in the state, where it is yet to make a major mark.

Reacting to his son joining the BJP, Antony said that it was a wrong decision. The decision is painful and I will remain a Congressman till death. I am 82 yers old and my life is in its last lap. I do not know how I will live. After my son quit the party posts, I have not discussed or reacted to that. This is my first and last reaction to this, Antony who is also a former Kerala chief minister and defence minister said.

The decision to take Anil into its fold was a decision taken at the Central level. He has been in touch with the top leaders of the BJP since January before an official announcement was made on Thursday.

Anil joined the BJP in the presence of Union Minister, Piyush Goyal and other senior BJP leaders.

The BJP with the entry of Anil would be hoping to blunt the fears among the Christian community. The Christians are a very influential community in Kerala and parts of Karnataka which goes to polls next month. The party has been trying to gain the trust of the Christians and has in recent times even projected leaders like Tom Vadakkan and K J Alphons.

Further more the BJP and the Christian community have been raising concerns about issues such a Love Jihad in Kerala and Karnataka. The BJP's Prakash Javadekar who is in charge of Kerala has been leading the party's outreach to various communities. He has also been meeting with various Christian leaders.

Following the elections in Northeast where the BJP returned to power in all the three states, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that the results in Meghalaya and Nagaland proved that the party was not seen as 'anti-Christian' and added that a BJP coalition would come to power in Kerala too.

At the press conference in New Delhi, the BJP's V Muraleedharan said that Anil Antony is a man of faith. He holds national interest beyond political interest. "His joining the BJP will prove the false campaign that the BJP does not welcome non-Hindus wrong. This is a befitting reply to those who spread it," he had said.

Anil Antony quit the party after citing online threats for his stance on the BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He has earned the praise of the BJP for his stance and has been described as a 'multi-faceted' personality. "The fact that he raised strong objections to the BBC documentary which sought to inflame tempers and raise completely unfounded baseless allegations against the honourable Prime Minister. Anil Antony termed these as an assault on India's sovereignty and integrity. It was obviously not liked by the Congress, which, at the same time, was trying to use the British soil to attack all democratic institutions in India," Piyush Goyal said at the press conference.