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The Church and the Christian vote

Venu Menon in Thiruvananthapuram

When Church leaders reacted angrily to Congressman K Karunakaran's controversial comment on the Christian vote bank, it provided a rare occasion when the Church in Kerala had raised its voice to deliver a political judgement on the eve of an election. Usually, Church authorities prefer to keep a low profile and avoid open politicking.

Metropolitan Yuhanon Mar Philoxinos, bishop of the Malankara Jacobite Syrian church, accused Karunakaran of insulting the Christian community by his remark that Roman Catholics constitute a bigger vote bank than the Jacobites in the Mukundapuram Lok Sabha constituency in central Kerala. The Congress leader had made this observation to justify his opposition to the candidature of partyman and Mukundapuram MP P C Chacko, who is a Jacobite.

On Karunakaran's insistence, Chacko had to vacate the seat in favour of a Roman Catholic candidate brought over from the neighbouring constituency of Idukki, from where Chacko is now contesting.

The incident hurt Jacobite sensibilities. Bishop Philexinos did not mince words. "Karunakaran's comment, coming from a senior leader of the Congress, which claims to fight communalism, shames even the BJP in that it attempts to make a candidate's community a poll weapon,'' he told newsmen adding: ''This is an attempt to divide the Christian community.''

Predictably, Karunakaran expressed regret and backtracked. But the episode is significant because a Church authority had stepped out from behind the curtain of silence to make a distinctly political pronouncement, a practice strictly avoided in the past. Throughout, the Church establishment in Kerala has been careful not to flaunt its political affiliations or openly indulge in political activity.

Yet it is no secret that the Church is steeped in politics. From the first exploratory steps of St Thomas on Kerala shores in the first century AD, it has grown into a sinewy monolith straddling the economic and political landscape of the state, commanding resources that bear comparison with those of the state itself. The Church controls the Kerala Congress groups, which have a wide support base in central Kerala and are virtually the political arm of the Christian clergy. It has a stake in the rich world of rubber and coffee, as well as in the education sector. It oversees a vast real estate empire stretching across the state.

Over the years, the Church has displayed a penchant for coalition politics and emerged as a pressure force, competing against other interest groups such as the Muslim League, the Nair Service Society and the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam of the Ezhavas.

To the uninitiated, the Church in Kerala is a bewildering mass of different denominations. It exists in the fragmented form of five major churches -- the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Jacobite, Marthoma and the Church of South India. Each has its own presiding pontiff, its own hierarchy and structure. The denominations also have their distinct but flexible political affiliations.

The segmented church unites in times of crisis when the various bishops's councils poll their ideas and resources to safeguard the wider interests of the community and clergy.

Christians constitute 21 per cent of the state's 29 million population. The bulk of them are Roman Catholics. Inevitably, the Catholic hierarchy wields a certain influence over the electorate in the Christian heartland of Central Kerala, the political turf of the Kerala Congress groups.

The dominant group is the Kerala Congress headed by K M Mani, a constituent of the Congress-led United Democratic Front. Followed by the rival Kerala Congress led by P J Joseph, an ally of the ruling Left Democratic Front. The Kerala Congress groups have been allotted a seat each by their respective fronts, with Mani's party contesting from Muvattupuzha and Joseph putting up his candidate in Idukki.

If the Roman Catholic Church holds sway over the voters of Central Kerala, the other denominations have their areas of influence too. The Church of South India has a large flock of Nadar Christians who held the key in the Thiruvanathapuram Lok Sabha constituency. The UDF customarily fields a candidate from the community, a strategy that has paid dividends in the past. But fissures led to a split in the Nadar vote in 1996, and the LDF wrested the seat.

The UDF has now deviated from past practice and fielded Karunakaran, an outsider to the constituency. As a first gesture, the Congress leader paid his respect to CSI bishop J W Gladstone in the hope of gaining the goodwill of the Nadars. No one knows which way the community will vote, but there is some resentment that a CSI Christian has not been represented in the UDF list. The Left parties have opted to circumvent the Nadar Christian factor by choosing Communist veteran K V Surendranath, who current represents the constituency.

As a poll tactic, both fronts traditionally deploy Christian candidates in the central Kerala constituencies. An equally important consideration is the church denominations to which the candidates belong. In Mavelikkara, the UDF is depending on P J Kurien to rope in the Marthoma votes, while the LDF hopes to split the Christian vote by backing Ninan Koshy of the CSI who is expected to win over the dalit Christians.

Again, in Idukki, P C Chacko is targeting the Jacobite community for its vote, while his Left adversary Francis George is honing in on the Catholic voters. In Ernakulam and Muvattupuzha, both fronts have fielded Catholic candidates in the hope of gleaning the consolidated vote of the community.

The Christian vote does not always hang on the diktat of the Church. In past assembly and parliamentary polls, it has see-sawed between the two coalitions. Issues critical to the community also determine the direction of the vote. The slump in rubber prices and the Communist Party of India-Marxist-sponsored campaign against the levelling of paddy fields to raise substitute crops will have their fallout in the election.

The Church authorities are aware that their influence on Christian voters is not absolute. Catholic Archbishop Joseph Mar Powathil, who presides over the Catholic Bishops Council of India, observes: "The Church is not committed to any party. Catholics are free to make their choice. The community has its vital interests, such as minority rights in the education sector and religious freedom across the country."

The threat perception of the BJP is never far from the minds of Church leaders. In recent years, conventions held by radical Christian groups such as the Pentecostals have been disrupted by RSS activists in Mavelikara and elsewhere. This has created an opening for the Marxists to step in and play the protector role, and tap the sentiment of the Christian religious fringe.

But the BJP is keen to project a secular image. The party has four Christian candidates in the fray and points to the presence of office-bearers drawn from the minority communities. This cosmetic veneer has done little to quell minority anxieties. In their search for political options, Christians as well as Muslims are torn between an anarchic United Front and an apologetic Congress under Sonia.

Which way the Christian vote swings will decide the fate of about half a dozen sitting MPs and the final tally of the two coalition fronts.

Elections '98

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