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Kochi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidates contesting the Guruvayur and Aluva constituencies faced backlash after their targeted campaigns urging voters to elect a “Hindu MLA” instead of Muslims in the upcoming Kerala Assembly elections.

BJP leaders B Gopalakrishnan and MA Brahmaraj are contesting from Guruvayur and Aluva, respectively. Their campaigns have been accused of polarising voters by highlighting the religious backgrounds of previously elected candidates, Maktoob Media reported.

No Hindu MLA yet, this should change: Read posters

Gopalakrishnan had noted that no Hindu MLA has been elected in Guruvayur in the past 50 years. He questioned why a temple town like Guruvayur lacks Hindu representation, claiming that both the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the United Democratic Front (UDF) failed to field candidates from the Hindu community.

A campaign billboard listed the elected representatives of Guruvayar from 1977 who were Muslims. Written on a green background, the headline read, “Don’t you see?”

In the saffron part, the caption read, “50 years of disregard. This should change! And to change this… Advocate B Gopalakrishnan.”

Even though the billboard campaigns do not directly mention religion, it only mentions Muslim MLAs, indirectly mobilising voters along religious lines.

The Kerala Students Union leader Gokul Guruvayur filed a complaint against Gopalakrishnan, following which the Election Commission of India (ECI) directed the Guruvayur Temple Police and the District Collector to take legal action against the BJP leader.

Gopalakrishnan was booked under Section 192 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause a riot) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 125 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, pertaining to promoting enmity on religious grounds.

However, his campaign continued using the Guruvayur Temple as a communal tool. When the media questioned his campaign based on religious identities, he firmly reiterated his remarks, saying he would not refrain from repeating the statements.

In the Aluva constituency, MA Brahmaraj led a similar campaign. The hoarding listed all MLAs that have represented the constituency since 1957 under the same headline, “Don’t you see?”

Again, the text read, “68 years of disregard. This should change! And to change this… MA Brahmaraj,” beside the NDA’s election symbol.

Like the one in Guruvayur, the Muslim MLAs names were written on a green background, and the BJP candidate’s name and picture were in saffron.

“We see them as our MLAs and past representatives, not merely as Muslims. There are dozens of constituencies in Kerala where only MLAs belonging to the Hindu community have been winning,” Arvind, a voter in Aluva was quoted by Maktoob.

“Was that considered a disregard? Why are there no such hoardings in those places?” he asked.