The support assumes significance in the backdrop of controversy surrounding the church and its founder, Evangelist KP Yohannan, whose offices were raided by the Income-Tax Department in recent years.
The divisive seeds sown by the proponents of Hindutva extremism and the Bharatiya Janata Party were amply watered and spread by the Church leadership on several instances, especially in regions under the Pala diocese.
‘The Kerala Story’ screening was condemned by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Opposition leader VD Satheesan, both of whom characterised the incident as a ploy by the Sangh Parivar and cautioned against its influence on the public.
Kerala s election discourse operates surreptitiously.
Its explicit face focuses on important national and local issues. At the same time, it seeks to secure apt communal equations to ensure votes, notes Shyam G Menon.