Christians urged to boycott BJP

Christians in South India have been urged to boycott the Hindu nationalist party, the BJP, in the country’s parliamentary elections, in an unprecedented letter from church leaders including the Archbishop of Hyderabad.

The letter to Christians in the large southern state of Andhra Pradesh was read in hundreds of churches on Palm Sunday and will be read out again before polling begins on 30 April.

In it the Andhra Pradesh Federation of Churches (APFC), an ecumenical council of bishops and church leaders, called on Christians to “elect leaders who are close to people and their needs, and only vote for those who uphold secular character and promote communal harmony”. The letter was signed by Archbishop Thumma Bala, and the moderator of the Church of South India, Bishop Govada Dyvasirvadam.

The BJP is the leading party in the opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA), whose prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi, chief minister of Gujarat state, sees India as a primarily Hindu nation. The NDA is currently leading the poll and is the major non-secular party. Christian and Muslim parties are deemed secular, and most Christians and Muslim voters support the incumbent Congress party led by Rahul Gandhi.

Bishop Dyvasirvadam told The Times of India he was worried about “communal carnage”, adding that Christians “need a strong government to protect us”. The number of attacks on Christians has increased in recent years, with 131 recorded by the New Delhi-based Evangelical Fellowship of India in 2012.

Fr Paul Thelakkat, spokesman for the Syro-Malabar Synod of Bishops and editor of the national Christian magazine Sathya Deepam (“Light of Truth”), said that the Catholic Church had not taken an official stance on the election but warned there was danger to Christians if the BJP took power. He told The Tablet: “The Church is very anxious about the communal politics of BJP, especially Mr Modi. The APFC sees the issue as serious enough to tell the people. Their stand is not without foundation. Catholics as well as other minorities are understanding the seriousness of the matter.

“The experience of Germany is sufficient lesson from history,” he went on. “Modi is unacceptable to many BJP leaders even, but he is the choice of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (the far-right organisation that dominates the BJP) who want to bring in ... Hindurashtra [Hindu nationalism].”

The general election is taking place from 7 April to 12 May, with voting in all 543 parliamentary constituencies. With 814 million eligible voters, it is the largest in the world. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is stepping down. The result will be declared on 16 May.