Prominent upper-caste outfit Nair Service Society (NSS) has put its weight behind the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) government on the Sabarimala issue, sparking speculation that it is inching towards the Left ahead of the Assembly elections next year. For the Congress, which is trying to stop the Left from returning to power for a third straight term, this will be a cause for concern.
On September 20, the government conducted a Global Ayyappa Sangamam to discuss the development of the hill shrine. The NSS, along with Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana SNDP Yogam, another prominent Hindu outfit, attended the conclave, while the Congress and the BJP stayed away. The Opposition parties wanted the government to withdraw the cases registered against devotees who, in 2018, protested against the entry of women of menstruating age into the hill shrine. It also wanted the LDF administration to withdraw its affidavit filed in the Supreme Court supporting the entry of young women into the temple.
In 2018, the NSS had initiated the protests in defence of temple traditions and rituals, but ahead of the Ayappa Summit, the CPI(M) dropped enough hints that it no longer wants to antagonise the faithful. Referring to the change in the government’s stand, NSS general secretary G Sukumaran Nair told the media, “The government’s changed stand is welcome. The government has stated that rituals and traditions will be protected. If it wanted, the government could have violated the traditions (facilitating young women’s entry after 2018). The other two parties (Congress and BJP) had done little on the Sabarimala issue. The BJP promised to bring regulations (to protest traditions at Sabarimala). Has anything happened? The Congress has no stand on the issue. Recent developments show they are after other communities. The Congress does not show a clear stand on the issue.”
Welcoming the remarks, CPI(M) leader and Devaswom Minister V N Vasavan said the Hindu outfit had approached the event with a good intention. “Sangamam had no political agenda. The Congress and the BJP turned the programme into a political controversy. The NSS had never blindly opposed the government. On certain issues, they have creative criticism,” he said.
The NSS leader’s remarks mark a change in its stance from previous years, when it opposed the Left government. In 2019, when five Assembly by-elections were held a year after the Sabarimala controversy, the NSS openly campaigned for the Congress mainly in two seats — Konni and Vattiyoorkavu — where the community had a considerable stake. But the Congress lost both contests.
Again highlighting the Sabarimala issue on the day Kerala went to the polls in May 2021, Sukumaran Nair said “people expect a change of regime” and that a “government that protects faith and social justice should come into power”. However, Vijayan retained power, winning 99 of the 140 seats, virtually sweeping seats where upper-caste Hindus form an influential chunk of the electorate.
Two years ago, the NSS general secretary locked horns with the CPI(M)-led government when Assembly Speaker A N Shamseer faced the heat over allegedly insulting Lord Ganesh. The NSS wanted Shamseer to apologise, but the CPI(M) remained unfazed, forcing Nair to stand down. In the 21-member Vijayan-led Cabinet, the largest chunk are Nairs.
The Congress response
The NSS did not send its representatives to the event that the Sangh Parivar organised in Pandalam on September 22. Its apparent bid to bridge with CPI(M) over Sabarimala issues comes at a time backward Ezhava community outfit SNDP Yogam’s general secretary Natesan has been repeatedly saying that the Pinarayi Vijayan government will retain power in the state. Setting the stage for a Hindu consolidation in favour of the CPI(M), Natesan has been targeting Congress, saying the party is guided and controlled by the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML).
For the Congress, however, the NSS’s change in tune will sting more as the party has several prominent Nair leaders. When the Congress was last in power from 2011 to 2016, Sukumaran Nair had openly called for senior party leader Ramesh Chennithala to be made CM after unseating incumbent Oommen Chandy. On many occasions, the NSS leader had detected terms for then ruling Congress. According to insiders, he is not happy with the present Congress leadership, particularly Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan, who too is a Nair but has taken exception to community leaders interfering in the internal matters of parties.
Chennithala, however, downplayed the alleged differences with the NSS. “We have a good relationship with the NSS. When it comes to Sabarimala, they have their own stand. Their support on the Sabarimala issue need not be construed as a pro-Left stand. The Congress and the UDF want everyone’s vote. The UDF is also an alliance of all sections of society and ours is a secular front,” he said.
Satheesan also denied there were differences with either NSS or the SNDP. “They (NSS and SNDP) have their own opinion, just like we are entitled to our views. We stand firm on the decision we took. It was a political decision taken by the Congress and UDF and we believe it was correct. We are not in conflict with any religious organisation or community,” he said Thursday.
Satheesan said the LDF government not only did not try to protect the rituals of Sabarimala, but actively violated the same by providing entry into the shrine to women under police escort. “We were the only ones who tried to protect the rituals of Sabarimala,” he said.
Senior BJP leader C K Padmanabhan Thursday said, “I don’t know why NSS has changed its stand. They may have their own interest to protect and reasons to change the stand. Ayyappa Sangamam is part of CPI(M)’s vote-bank politics. In Kerala, we see that members of a community do not go with the political decisions of their community leaders.”