Last April, a Pentecostal pastor from a village in northwestern India announced that it was time for Christians to be represented in politics. Harpreet Deol of the Open Door Church stated, on behalf of the committee she represented, the launch of the local party “United Punjab party” (UPP), recalled Christianity Today July 17th. They want to start by preparing for elections in Punjab state before getting involved at the national level. However, this decision was not well received by all Christians.

Seek cooperation more than political confrontation

Indeed, many think that Christians in politics should not build themselves into parties aiming for elections, but instead seek agreement with existing secular parties. This is particularly the case for Pushpanathan Wilson, a Christian Member of Parliament from the southern state of Tamil Nadu, who asserted that “starting a separate party will only weaken secular forces strong enough to fight Hindu fundamentalists. […] (Otherwise) we will expose our future generations to the risk of being isolated and neglected in our country.”

“If success is measured by electing a Christian candidate, we will fail,” said Atul Aghamkar, acting director of the National Center for Urban Transformation, a branch of the Evangelical Community of India. “Christians are a scattered minority and do not have the necessary influence to win elections”, he said Christianity Today.

The “United Punjab Party” gets credit through voting deposits

Facing various objections, members of the new UPP party initially decided to seek cooperation for local legislative elections in May. Therefore, they urge their supporters to vote for a certain popular party. Actions that will not go in vain as the Aam Aadmi party was elected by a margin of more than 58,000 votes, thereby rewarding Christian voters in the UPP.

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