Kochi: The Velankanni Matha Church is situated in the Munambam-Kadappuram ward of Pallippuram grama panchayat in Ernakulam district. It is one of the two wards in the panchayat where the BJP could not find a candidate in the 2020 local body elections. Cut to April 2025, with a few months to the next local body elections; the Kadappuram ward sounds like speaking in BJP's tongue.

The Munambam land dispute, which forced 610 families in the area, most of them from the Kadappuram ward, to a warpath with the Kerala State Waqf Board, has clearly given an edge to the BJP in the coastal belt, at least for now. The families facing eviction from their residential properties with the Waqf Board’s claim over their land have been staging an indefinite protest on the church premises for the past 178 days. 

On April 3, the 173rd day of the protest, the Parliament passed the new Waqf Amendment Bill introduced by the Narendra Modi-led NDA government. The Munambam protestors are convinced that the new law will solve their crisis and reinstate their revenue rights, though the CPM-led LDF and Congress-led UDF claim it to be an eyewash, citing the law doesn’t have retrospective effect. The two fronts stand for the cause of the Munambam residents, though the people seem to have lost confidence in them. A day after the bill was passed, 50 protesters joined the BJP in an act of thanksgiving. 

“I have voted only for Congress all my life. Now, the BJP government has helped us overcome the Waqf crisis with the new legislation. Hence, we decided to side with those who helped us save our shelter. It’s not that I joined BJP, but I chose to be thankful,” Jackson (60) told Onmanorama on Sunday. Jackson is one of the new BJP entrants. 

“Had it been a Congress government in the Centre, we would have to protest till our death. The Modi government has done its part. Now, it’s upto the state government to do what they have to do (to reinstate the revenue rights). Even if the state government doesn’t do it, we are sure the Centre will help us,” said, Pradeep (63), who claimed he was a CPM supporter. 

“The Waqf Board is still after us staking claim to our land. But we don’t care about the Board anymore. We strongly feel that the BJP government has created a shield for us,” Philip Joseph, one of the prominent faces at the protest, said. He then revealed what should upset the Congress. “Over 400 from the area have already taken the BJP membership through its ‘missed call’ campaign’. 

The pro-BJP sentiments heard from Munambam makes it clear that the party has been able to achieve in the coastal village what it could not in many parts of the state despite playing all possible cards for years. 

The Munambam land dispute perfectly aligned with the BJP’s politics. It had everything the saffron wing has been looking for. It's a local issue with national interest. It was tailor-made for the party’s strategy to reach out to the Christian communities as most of the affected parties are Christians and it is a top priority of the church leadership to ensure a solution. Above all, it has a Muslim body on the other side. 

“The advantage we have in Munambam is that it is an issue others didn’t want to touch. The Congress and the CPM and their allies could not challenge the Waqf Board as openly as we could,” a state BJP leader, who did not want to be identified, told Onmanorama. 

The BJP has played up the Munambam issue strategically with its Minority Morcha making key interventions. The minority wing appointed a five-member panel in August 2024 to study the issue. The panel then met the affected parties in the presence of the Velankanni parish priest and nudged them to launch a strike. However, they were initially reluctant to go on strike and wanted to consult the Church leadership and involve other political parties too. The BJP decided to wait.

The Kerala Latin Catholic Association under the aegis of Kerala Region Latin Catholic Council (KRLCC) in association with Kottapuram Diocese then held a protest meet at Vanchi Square in Kochi on September 27. Congress’ Ernakulam MP Hibi Eden attended the meet and extended support to the affected families even as warning them not to fall to the trap set by those who want to create communal tension. 

Minority Morcha State President Jiji Jospeh, who represented the BJP, then announced a march to the Waqf Board office. He did it in consultation with the then BJP state president K Surendran who inaugurated the march on October 8.

Three days later the indefinite protest under the banner of Munambam Bhoo Samrakshana Samithi was launched. The BJP did not use its flags during the Waqf Board march and a foot procession held in Munambam a few days later. On November 19, the party staged a march to the Secretariat. 

In the following days, top BJP leaders, including Suresh Gopi, Sobha Karandlaje, and Rajeev Chandrasekhar, visited the Munambam protest site. Chandrasekhar briefed Union Minister for Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju about the issue, bringing it to the attention of the BJP national leadership. 

When Rijiju visits Munambam on April 15 to attend NDA’s ‘Thank You, Modi’ event, it will mark the culmination of a crucial phase of BJP’s Project Munambam.