Modi-Pope Connect In Kerala: BJP's Christian MLAs From Northeast To Conduct Door-To-Door Campaign

Last Updated:February 13, 2026, 07:30 IST

At least 18 Christian MLAs from three BJP-ruled or BJP-allied states including Goa, Nagaland and Manipur are set to begin a coordinated outreach in 37 key Christian-dominated seats

The BJP is preparing for a unique outreach experiment in poll-bound Kerala with focus on its engagement with the Christian community, not through central rhetoric but through faces drawn from the community.

Once the assembly elections are announced, at least 18 Christian MLAs from three BJP-ruled or BJP-allied states including Goa, Nagaland and Manipur are set to begin a coordinated door-to-door campaign in 37 key constituencies across Christian-dominated districts of the southern state.

According to BJP insiders, the exercise is not merely designed as electoral mobilisation but as political signalling. A senior party leader, involved in the election management, said Kerala’s Christians wield decisive influence in at least 37 constituencies with around 9 percent to 11 percent vote share. 

“An important component of the campaign narrative will be excerpts and imagery from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s interaction with Pope Francis at the Vatican in 2021 and another brief exchange in 2024 in Italy," the BJP leader said.

Sources said the widely circulated visuals of Modi’s meeting with the late Pope and some important excerpts from their discussion are expected to be deployed as symbols of diplomatic respect and political dialogue. 

WHAT IS THE STRATEGY?

The symbolism is political and deliberate as well. At this crucial juncture, when the BJP has started making reasonably significant inroads into Kerala,  it wants to demonstrate that Christian political representation within the party is not just ornamental but functional and visible in governance and grassroots mobilisation.

Kerala – where Christians form nearly 18 percent to 20 percent of the population and hold significant influence in central Travancore districts such as Kottayam and Ernakulam – has long remained resistant terrain for the BJP. The party’s vote share has inched up over the years, but a breakthrough has remained elusive and this outreach is an attempt to alter that narrative. 

Election data shows that Christians constitute approximately 18.4 percent of the population. Historically, the population has been a reliable vote bank for the United Democratic Front (UDF), but recent elections have witnessed significant shifts toward the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and an increasing outreach by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

“While the majority of the Christian communities may still prefer to stay aligned with the Congress-led alliance, the local Syro-Malabar Christian communities have started connecting more with the BJP. They are scared of Islamic forces including the PFI (Popular Front of India)," said another BJP leader based out of Kerala. 

WHAT PURPOSE WILL MLAs FROM OTHER STATES SERVE?

The decision to deploy Christian MLAs from states where the BJP is electorally entrenched is also a strategic messaging.

In Nagaland and parts of the northeast, the BJP governs in alliance structures where Christian communities form the overwhelming majority. Goa, too, has seen Christian MLAs elected on BJP tickets and inducted into the cabinet. 

The subtext seems to be clear. The BJP wants to counter the perception that it is politically incompatible with Christian interests. By foregrounding elected Christian representatives who function within BJP governments, the party is attempting to present itself as accommodative rather than adversarial.

Party insiders indicate that the campaign will focus on welfare schemes, minority scholarships, infrastructure development, and what it calls “equal opportunity without appeasement". The narrative will stress that central schemes, from housing to healthcare, are religion-neutral in delivery.

In the 2021 assembly elections, the LDF significantly increased its share among Christians, particularly among the poor and lower classes, where support rose from 36 percent to 44 percent. This was bolstered by the entry of the Christian-backed Kerala Congress (Mani) into the alliance.

The BJP, meanwhile, intensified its outreach to Christian denominations (Syro-Malabar, Orthodox, and Jacobite) to break the electoral deadlock. Its overall Christian vote share rose from 2 percent in the 2019 elections to 9 percent and 10 percent in the 2021 and 2024 polls (state and general).

Recent local body results in late 2025 and 2026, however, suggest a “quiet outreach" is beginning to reshape loyalties in certain pockets like Pala and Poonjar. The Syro-Malabar Catholic Church (the largest group at 38 percent of Christians) has traditionally leaned toward the UDF, but some bishops have recently expressed strategic openness to the BJP. 

WHAT ABOUT THE POPE OPTICS?

A key part of the messaging material will reportedly include references to Modi’s interactions with late Pope Francis, including their meeting at the Vatican in 2021 and subsequent diplomatic exchanges.

The imagery of him greeting Pope Francis and invitations extended for a visit to India, are likely to be framed as evidence of respect and diplomatic dialogue.

For the BJP, these visuals serve a dual purpose including international legitimacy and domestic reassurance. On its part, the saffron party appears prepared to argue that governance records in Christian-majority states under its influence contradict the charge of systemic hostility.

News elections Modi-Pope Connect In Kerala: BJP's Christian MLAs From Northeast To Conduct Door-To-Door Campaign

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