Newly elected BJP district president V.K. Sajeevan has said that his first priority is to address the concerns of the minorities, especially the Muslim community, about the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
Both the ruling Left Democratic Front and the Opposition United Democratic Front, Mr. Sajeevan said, were not only spreading falsehood but also creating a fear psychosis in the name of the CAA and the National Population Register (NPR). “Kozhikode has been the hub of the anti-CAA and anti- NPR protest in Malabar. One of the reasons for the apprehension is that the government machinery has been widely misused for these protests,” he said.
Mr. Sajeevan said the second priority for him is to rejuvenate the party for the upcoming local body elections. Although the network of the BJP is strong in the district, the party has not been able to make worthwhile electoral gains. “Now a conscious effort has to be made to fight the polls,” he said.
However, he has his work cut out in Kozhikode to keep factional politics at bay. The party had not been able to garner votes despite matching campaigning with its rivals in the recently held polls.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP has increased its vote share in both the parliamentary seats of Kozhikode and Vadakara. But its performance was not as impressive as the Assembly polls in 2016.
The party fared better in the 2015 local body polls in the district as well as civic body polls such as Kozhikode Corporation winning seven divisions. Now Mr. Sajeevan has a daunting task to increase its presence not only in the Corporation but also in other municipalities as well in the district.
