From now on, the political rhetoric that the veteran politician P.C. George will be ramping up through his public speeches will find expression in platforms set by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
In a ceremony at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi on Wednesday, Mr. George, accompanied by his son Shaun George and fellow leader George Joseph Kakkanad, officially joined the national party.
Union Ministers V. Muraleedharan, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, BJP’s Kerala in-charge Prakash Javadekar, Radha Mohandas Agarwal, and Anil Antony were present.
The move gave further credence to speculation on Mr. George’s candidacy from Pathanamthitta as the National Democratic Alliance’s candidate in the coming Lok Sabha elections. Mr. George, on his part, too has expressed his readiness to address the challenges faced by rubber and cardamom farmers, particularly in central Travancore.
In his endeavour to join the BJP, he also claimed the support of various church denominations. “I am joining the BJP after holding discussions with all church denominations in Kerala. In the coming elections, the BJP will have at least five Parliament members from Kerala,” he said.
Whether this move will have any impact on the Christian vote bank of central Travancore remains to be seen.
Although Mr. George has been on an overdrive to woo Catholic votes by amplifying the concerns regarding the tilting communal balance in central Travancore, the Church appears unsure of taking the BJP into confidence. His right-wing refrains, at the same time, have also garnered a following, particularly among those dissatisfied with the State government’s handling of “political Islam”.
“As a senior politician, he is free to exit or join any party. Whether he will have the Church’s backing on all his moves is a different issue altogether,” said a senior functionary of the Catholic church.
Known for his controversial remarks, Mr. George has steeped his political campaign in communal rhetoric since the parliamentary elections of 2019 and courted controversies for communally sensitive remarks on more than one occasion.
The journey, however, has not been without setbacks. Contesting as an Independent in 2021, Mr. George lost his sitting seat in Poonjar due to a consolidation of Muslim votes against him, despite his claims of tacit support from the Bharatiya Janata Party, which ultimately proved insufficient.
Meanwhile, the entry of Shaun George into the party has helped the BJP obtain representation in the Kottayam district panchayat for the first time ever.
