Thiruvananthapuram: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president Amit Shah may visit Sabarimala during the upcoming Mandalakalam pilgrimage season to worship at the Lord Ayyappa temple. However, a date has not been finalised.
Shah, in his declaration at Kannur, had fully endorsed the state leadership's move to launch an agitation against the Supreme Court verdict that allowed women of child-bearing age to enter the hill shrine. The party sees it as an opportunity to make electoral gains in the state. BJP leaders in the state wanted him to attend the conclusion of the party's November 8-13 Rath Yatra (chariot journey) in Pathanamthitta. As the demand was made, Shah himself suggested that he would visit the Sabarimala temple and offer worship. The Rath Yatra will conclude with a rally of women.
Shah proposed that the protest should be staged under the banner of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) that the BJP leads.
Thushar Vellappally, state president of NDA ally BDJS, attended the discussions which Shah had with BJP state president P S Sreedharan Pillai and leaders V Muraleedharan, P K Krishnadas and M Ganesh. The Rath Yatra will be led by Sreedharan Pillai and Thushar.
The BJP is fielding Thushar to counter his father Vellappally Natesan, chief of the Sreenarayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam, who rejected Shah's plea at Sivagiri to bring in the SNDP into the agitation.
Sreedharan Pillai will make a bid to seek support of powerful minority leaders for the agitation.
Breakthrough with royals
The leaders of the Sabarimala Karma Samiti and the Pandalam Palace, which is traditionally associated with the temple, also called on Shah. BJP state leaders claim that the visit of the royals, seeking Shah's help is a huge gain as they used to ally with the CPM.
Former Kerala police chief T P Senkumar also called on Shah, but hasn't joined the BJP officially.
Amit Shah left Sunday afternoon to attend the Yuv Morcha conference in Hyderabad, along with P K Krishnadas, who looks after Telengana for the BJP.
