BJP to commemorate late CPI leader, eyes to widen SC vote bank

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Despite its ideological rivalry with the Left, the BJP is all set to honour a late leader of the Communist Party. According to sources, the right-wing party is planning to host a memorial function for

P K Chathan Master, the state’s first minister from the Scheduled Caste community, who handled the portfolios of local self-government and Harijan welfare in the EMS government. He was an active figure of the CPI before it split, leading to the birth of the CPM.

The BJP’s decision to honour a Left leader is seen as an effort to widen its vote bank in the state -- an unofficial outreach to the SC community. Originally planned to be held in Thiruvananthapuram this week as part of BJP president Nitin Nabin’s visit to the state, the programme has been rescheduled following the postponement of his visit.

BJP sources said the commemoration will be held this month itself. “More than a Left politician, Chathan Master was a renaissance leader who had been neglected by the successive governments in the state. There are many figures like Chathan Master in the SC communities, who have not yet been brought to the mainstream. That is what we aim to achieve through our efforts,” sources said.

The source also added that even though Chathan Master began the Kerala Pulayar Maha Sabha (KPMS), the group has now fragmented and is working as separate entities, all of whom will be invited to the memorial meeting.

Emphasising that the party already has a solid vote bank in the SC belts, BJP state leaders said that this move was aimed at gaining more support within the same. “Of the 16 assembly constituencies reserved for SC and ST candidates, we showed remarkable progress in 13 seats in the recent elections,” a BJP leader said.

Meanwhile, CPM leader and former Rajya Sabha MP K Somaprasad said that the BJP’s move is a ‘political deception’.

“Chathan Master was a leader who lived till the last moment by upholding the Communist values. If the BJP is attempting to commemorate him after all these years, it should be seen as the party’s political deception,” he said. Somaprasad also added that the Dalits will never side with the RSS or BJP, which still upholds the Sanatana Dharma founded on the Chatur Varna system.

Another CPM leader, who did not want to be named, also asserted that the BJP was trying to manipulate the angst existing within some sections of society.