PM Modi to meet 8 top Church leaders in Kochi today

Apparantly with an eye on the Christian vote bank ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to hold discussions with various Church leaders in Kochi on Monday.

During his Kerala visit, PM Modi is expected to meet SyroMalabar church major archbishop cardinal, Malankara Orthodox church head catholicos Baselios Mar Thoma Mathews-III, Syro Malankara Catholic church head major archbishop cardinal Baselios Cleemis catholicos, Verapoly archbishop Joseph Kalathiparambil, Jacobite church metropolitan trustee Joseph Mor Gregorios, Knanaya church head Mar Mathew Moolakkatt, Knanaya metropolitan Kuriakose Mor Severios, and Chaldean Syrian church head Mar Awgin Kuriakose.

According to political pundits, the meeting is crucial as the BJP's outreach campaign has received a favourable response as several members from the Christian community joined the saffron party. BJP workers believe that once the PM arrives, the numbers will increase.

In a big boost to BJP's Christian outreach, a senior Bishop - Thalassery Archbishop Mar Joseph Pamplany - of the influential Syro-Malabar Catholic Church openly offered conditional support to the BJP in the State.

Union Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan said he believed the Church leaders were meeting the PM because of the "love and respect they had for Modi" and they had not said it had anything to do with votes.

"It is the Congress which is saying it is for votes. Congress is only concerned with votes and not welfare of the people. So, they only see votes in everything," he was quoted saying by PTI.

Buoyed over by its good performance in Christian-dominated Nagaland and Meghalaya, PM Modi declared that this busted the myth of the BJP being unacceptable to religious minorities.

PM Modi further said that like in Northeastern States and BJP-ruled Goa, the party will also soon do well in Kerala which has the largest number of Christians among all States in the country and form an important vote bank.