3 min readThiruvananthapuramUpdated: Apr 11, 2026 07:44 PM IST
The Kerala BJP has rallied behind its Christian leader Shone George, who is in a standoff with the Catholic Church over allegations that bishops instructed voters to support the Congress in the Assembly elections.
Shone, one of the party’s state vice presidents, had flayed the Catholic Church’s anti-BJP stand over the FCRA amendment Bill introduced in the Lok Sabha days before the Kerala elections. Although put on hold, the Bill has triggered outrage among Christian Churches, especially the influential Catholic segment, casting a shadow over the BJP’s outreach.
Shone and his father P C George on Friday alleged that the Kanjirappally bishop had directed nuns to vote for Congress in the April 9 elections. Shone is the BJP candidate in the Catholic heartland of Pala, while his father is contesting from nearby Poonjar. Catholic Church-run daily Deepika also came out against the George family’s stand on the FCRA issue, where they argued the Bill would bring more transparency in handling foreign funds.
BJP state general secretary S Suresh said Saturday that Shone is a leader who fights for Christian causes and had spoken out against the Church-run newspaper.
“The BJP will react against the move to take the Christian faithful to the Congress fold. When Christian faithful are trying to escape from Congress, there is an attempt to take back the community to the same party. Shone has protested against it,” said Suresh.
The BJP leader also reminded the Church leadership that only the BJP had supported them on issues such as disparity in distributing minority scholarships and when SDPI came out against the Pala bishop over his “narcotic jihad” comment. Congress and CPI(M) had betrayed the community on these issues, he said.
In the George versus Church controversy, the BJP has taken a tactical line, backing Christian leaders rather than the Church leadership. On the FCRA issue, there is a view among some Christian faithful that bishops do not maintain transparency on foreign contributions.
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George, a former multi-term legislator, and his son were earlier with the regional Kerala Congress but moved to the BJP a few years ago. Unlike other Christian leaders in the BJP, the George family has grassroots support in Pala and nearby areas.
In the 2026 Kerala elections, the BJP has fielded few Christian leaders, apart from Union minister George Kurian and Anoop Antony Joseph, both with a strong BJP background. The party did not give tickets to leaders like former DGP Jacob Thomas, Congress turncoat Tom Vadakkan, and former minister Alphonse Kannanthanam, who joined the BJP after serving as a CPI(M)-backed legislator.
