Nun Arrests Threaten BJP’s Kerala Christian Project: How The Party May Undo The Damage

Last Updated:August 01, 2025, 14:00 IST

The state unit of the BJP has already sent its General Secretary, Anoop Antony—the party’s Christian face in Kerala BJP—to Raipur to engage with Chhattisgarh leaders

Members of Christian community take part in a protest rally against the arrest of two Kerala nuns on allegations of forcible conversion and trafficking in Chhattisgarh, in Hyderabad, on Thursday. (PTI)

Two Catholic nuns from Kerala — Sister Preethi Mary and Sister Vandana Francis of the Assisi Sisters of Mary Immaculate (ASMI) — were arrested by the Railway Police in Chhattisgarh on charges of human trafficking and forced religious conversion of tribal girls from Maoist-affected Narayanpur.

Although their bail pleas were rejected on July 30 by a Durg court, which referred the nuns to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Bilaspur, the political fallout has already begun and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — the new kid on the bloc in Kerala politics, which saw a 3.7% jump in vote share with its first ever Lok Sabha seat from the state in 2024 election backed by the Christian community in the state—stands to lose much of its hard-earned political space among the community that so far aligned with either the Congress-led UDF or the Left-led LDF.

Sources indicate that while the intervention in the BJP came from the highest quarters to douse it before it turns into a wildfire, the Kerala BJP is in a precarious situation.

Undoing Christian outreach in Kerala?

The Kerala BJP has invested heavily in building goodwill with church leaders—organising Sneha Yatras, nurturing Christian leadership within the party, and portraying a moderate, inclusive face to Kerala’s sizable Christian electorate. According to 2011 census, Kerala’s Christian population makes up roughly 18-19% of the state’s total population.

But the arrest has thrown all that into disarray. BJP insiders admit it is a “severe headache" that has the potential to seriously undo the ground gained among Christians, a vote bank the BJP hoped to cultivate ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls.

Daily street protests in solidarity with the two nuns have become a common sight in different parts of Kerala, including Thrissur—BJP’s first-ever Kerala seat that was won backed by the overriding support of the Christian community. What should trouble the BJP is the active role played by the Church, where powerful bodies such as the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church threw their weight behind the agitation.

In Thiruvananthapuram, Father Eugene Pereira, Vicar General of the Latin Catholic Archdiocese, who has been the face of many protests from the Vizhinjam Port Protest in 2022 to Muthalapozhi protests too, lent his voice for the two arrested nuns, calling it “a violation of the constitutional rights of minorities".

The Church of South India (CSI) Synod Secretariat—one of the largest Protestant denominations in India, which covers four southern states—Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh/Telangana and the union territory of Puducherry — has now come out with a condemnation, making it politically hard for the BJP.

In a statement issued here on Thursday, CSI Synod general secretary C. Fernandas Rathina Raja said, “Such acts not only violate the fundamental rights but also infringe upon the constitutional guarantee of religious freedom and the right to practice and propagate one’s faith."

BJP’s damage control

The BJP, whose state unit understands the precarious situation they are in, have found an ally in its top leadership, which has stepped in for a timely stitch to save nine. Union Home Minister Amit Shah is believed to have asked the BJP-led Chhattisgarh government not to oppose the bail plea of the two nuns who are expected to walk out on Friday itself.

CPIM MP from Kerala John Brittas told the media in Delhi, “The left delegation MPs met the Home Minister… He promised to facilitate the nuns’ release. They will be released on bail tomorrow. That is the expectation. He also said that appropriate instructions have been given to the Chhattisgarh government. They will not oppose the bail of the nuns…"

Meanwhile, the state unit of the BJP has already sent its General Secretary, Anoop Antony—the party’s Christian face in Kerala BJP—to Raipur to engage with Chhattisgarh leaders, promising resolution and justice for the nuns. While he met the two nuns who are in judicial custody, Antony also had a closed-door meeting with Chhattisgarh CM Vishnu Deo Sai and Deputy CM Vijay Sharma, who also holds the Home portfolio, over the issue and how the release of the two nuns can be secured legally.

Interestingly, Kerala BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar was swift in distancing himself from the Chhattisgarh CM’s rhetoric, calling the incident a “misunderstanding" due to procedural lapses—not trafficking or conversion—and pledged party support to the nuns, calling both of them innocent.

Interestingly, as Shah promised Brittas about the release of the two nuns on Friday, Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs and another Christian face of the BJP from Kerala is in the state while the Parliament is in session. It is seen that George Kurian is being sent as the Centre’s representative during the nuns’ homecoming.

Does that mean all is well? No. There lingers a problem within the saffron fold where senior functionaries of Hindu Aikya Vedi, an umbrella organisation of pro-Sangh groups, are taking to social media and lashing out at the “Christian missionaries" for their alleged “massive conversion"—something both the state BJP and central BJP are not very comfortable with.

Moreover, this momentary glitch between the Church and the BJP in Kerala has given a space to the left and the Congress to exploit further.

But every time such glitch happens, I am reminded of a Sangh ideologue who once said, “Kerala is like a test match. You have to be patient."

Anindya Banerjee

Anindya Banerjee, Associate Editor brings over fifteen years of journalistic courage to the forefront. With a keen focus on politics and policy, Anindya has garnered a wealth of experience, with deep throat in ...Read More

Anindya Banerjee, Associate Editor brings over fifteen years of journalistic courage to the forefront. With a keen focus on politics and policy, Anindya has garnered a wealth of experience, with deep throat in ...

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First Published:

August 01, 2025, 14:00 IST

News politics Nun Arrests Threaten BJP’s Kerala Christian Project: How The Party May Undo The Damage

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