In a state that has been the byword for Left and Congress politics for decades, Kerala is seeing a dramatic and sudden realignment of the political balance. The trigger for this? The Waqf Amendment Bill, 2025. With this bill, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has not only made major changes in the draconian laws that gave unrealistic powers to the Waqf Board, but also brought on board an entirely new constituency, the Christian community, a powerful and influential political force in Kerala.
The root of this political change lies in the land dispute in Munambam, a coastal town in Kerala’s Ernakulam district. The Kerala State Waqf Board had taken over 400 acres of land held by nearly 600 Christian and Hindu families for centuries. Locals assert that they had legally purchased the land, which was originally managed by Farook College. However, in 2022, the village office suddenly claimed the land belonged to the Waqf Board, denying the villagers’ revenue rights and preventing them from selling or mortgaging their properties. This increased tension, which culminated in the long protest backed by the Catholic Church.
On 4th April 2025, the Indian Parliament passed the Waqf Amendment Bill, which puts brakes on Waqf Boards making arbitrary land claims, and is seen broadly as a victory of Munambam residents. The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) and the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) opposed the bill, which triggered a spate of outrage among Christian communities who felt betrayed by parties they had been supporting for long.
The reaction came quickly. Idukki District Congress Committee general secretary Benny Peruvanthanam resigned from the Congress, blaming the party for neglecting Christians and its “appeasement” of Muslims. The silence of Congress leadership on Munambam and opposition to the bill were seen as a brazen challenge to Christian interests. Unlike the past, this time the church too raised its heads to protest against the injustice. Large organizations such as the Syro-Malabar Church and the Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council (KCBC) took the step of filing written complaints before the Joint Parliamentary Committee, stating that their properties were being “illegally” claimed by the Waqf Board.
The Deepika, a Church-owned newspaper, published scathing editorials against Congress and CPI(M) both for ignoring the concerns of their most die-hard voters.
Sensing a rare opening, BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar visited Munambam, met the protesting families, and hailed their struggle as “a turning point in Kerala’s political history.” On the very day the bill passed, fifty Munambam residents mostly former Congress and CPI(M) supporters formally joined the BJP.
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju publicly supported the Christian organisations, assuring them their grievances would be addressed. This alignment between Church leadership and BJP ministers represents an unprecedented political development in Kerala.
Christians make up about 18% of Kerala’s population, with dominant presence in central districts such as Kottayam, Ernakulam, Idukki, and Thrissur. Among them, Catholics, especially the Syro-Malabar denomination, wield significant political and social influence. For decades, Christian votes were split primarily between the Congress-led UDF and CPI(M)-led LDF. But now, a section of the community sees BJP as a viable third option, particularly when their core concerns like land rights and religious freedom are under threat from appeasement politics of LDF and UDF.
The political churn became evident in the 2024 general elections when actor-turned-politician Suresh Gopi scored a historic win in Thrissur , a constituency with 49% Hindus, 35% Christians, and 16% Muslims. Analysts believe that a decisive swing of Catholic Christian votes in his favor helped him secure the victory. The BJP had long been shut out electorally in Kerala, but Gopi’s win, coupled with the Munambam events, signals that the political ice is breaking.
Also Read: Muslim bodies angry over Priyanka Gandhi’s absence during Waqf Bill debate
Incidentally, while the leftist ecosystem try to whitewash Love Jihad as a Right wing “conspiracy theory”, it was the Christian community in the state of Kerala which first alerted the nation about this grave perversion and the coercive tactics of the Islamist forces through which radical Muslim youths were preying on the young girls of the Christian community. It was after the Church’s campaign to save Christian daughters from getting sexually exploited or getting killed that the term ‘Love Jihad’ was coined.
By aligning with Christian community concerns especially on tangible issues like property rights, the BJP is attempting to build trust, not through ideological campaigns but through issue-based empathy. While it may be premature to declare a full-blown shift of Kerala’s Christian vote bank to the BJP, signs of realignment are unmistakable. The Waqf Amendment Bill has catalyzed a larger movement of political introspection among Christian voters, many of whom now feel that traditional parties no longer represent their concerns.
The Christian Community’s disillusionment with Congress and CPI(M) by the Church, and the vociferous demonstrations in Munambam are all pieces of a jigsaw that are all in the direction of a transformed political landscape. If the trend continues, Kerala could be at the threshold of a political change, one where the BJP is no longer a marginal factor but a force to be reckoned with, backed by groups that were considered to be out of bounds for it.
