The controversial arrest of two nuns from Kerala in Chhattisgarh, where the Bharatiya Janata Party is in power, on the grounds of forcible conversion and trafficking was bound to lead to protests by the latter’s opponents. The Congress and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) have raised their voices against the incarceration of the nuns. What is of particular interest though is that the Kerala unit of the BJP has made grumbling noises too. The state BJP president, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, has stated that he did not believe that the nuns were involved in any illegalities; the Kerala BJP’s general-secretary, Anoop Antony, has been dispatched to attempt the release of the two women. The Kerala BJP’s nervousness is understandable. The Church, a supposed conduit to reach Kerala’s substantial Christian voter base, has been aggrieved by the arrest. On Wednesday, the Thiruvananthapuram Catholic Forum, which was led by the Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council president — a man with cordial ties to BJP leaders — had taken out a silent protest against the alleged humiliation of the Christian personnel. If the Church were to reassess its ties with the BJP, it would undoubtedly have electoral repercussions for a party that is yet to find its feet in that southern state. Hence, the Kerala BJP, caught in a conflict between ideological and electoral prerogatives, has its eyes glued to Chhattisgarh.

But this issue needs to be looked at beyond the narrow prism of electoral politics and its compulsions. This is because vigilante outfits — the Bajrang Dal has raised an accusing finger at the nuns in this instance — and their political patrons have been complicit in repeatedly using the charge of forcible conversion — a bogey? — to not only polarise the electorate but also persecute religious minorities in India. Legislations — several BJP-ruled states have passed anti-conversion laws — have also been weaponised to target vulnerable constituencies; even perfectly consensual inter-faith relationships are being targeted by these laws. This kind of mischief only burnishes the BJP’s credentials of being adversarial towards minorities. Kerala’s reaction to the BJP in the ballot in light of the nuns’ plight would be revealing.