KOCHI: Only a handful of people are close enough to NSS supremo G Sukumaran Nair to call him ‘Mani Chettan’. V N Vasavan, the Minister for Cooperation, Ports and Devaswom, is one of them.
In central Kerala, where community equations decide political fortunes, Vasavan has become the CPM’s indispensable troubleshooter and bridge builder.
When the NSS general secretary publicly lauded the LDF government’s handling of the first Global Ayyappa Sangamam, the man who worked the levers behind the scenes was Vasavan.
Regarded as one of the CPM’s accomplished organisers in central Kerala, Vasavan is credited with persuading both Nair and SNDP general secretary Vellappally Natesan to back the Sangamam. However, his political acumen goes much deeper: he is considered instrumental in bringing the Kerala Congress (M), once the bulwark of the UDF, into the LDF fold. That single move redrew Kerala’s political map and altered the balance of power in Kottayam and nearby districts, including Idukki and Pathanamthitta.
The thaw in ties with the NSS also bears Vasavan’s imprint. Back in 2017, it was he who encouraged Nair to meet Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at the Nattakom guest house, the first cautious step towards bridging decades of hostility. This April, when Pinarayi personally visited the ailing Nair, who was convalescing at a hospital after a fall, Vasavan was at his side — a symbolic gesture that carried political weight far beyond the hospital walls.
For an Ezhava leader without the benefit of higher education to achieve this stature in Kottayam — the traditional bastion of Oommen Chandy and K M Mani — is no small feat.
“Most CPM ministers are stiff and inaccessible,” says political analyst Adv A Jayasankar. “But Vasavan is different. He has vast experience in working among the people. For an Ezhava to emerge in Kottayam is very difficult, near impossible. Normally, you have to be either a Syrian Christian or a Nair to survive politically there. Vasavan has broken that mould. He is an excellent mediator and an able leader.”
That mediating instinct has allowed him to keep multiple power centres in good humour — whether the Syro-Malabar bishops, the Orthodox and Jacobite factions, or rivals like Vellappally and Gokulam Gopalan. From his early SFI and CITU days to his stint as CPM’s Kottayam district secretary, Vasavan has cultivated personal rapport across divides.
“After T K Ramakrishnan in the 1980s, perhaps no other Communist leader has held such command, both in the party and in the government, to get things done even while being so accessible and popular,” said another political analyst.
Veteran journalist Jacob George notes that Vasavan’s rise looks even more impressive when contrasted with others. “Through sheer hard work and accessibility, Vasavan has become a leading figure in Kerala politics. He is one minister whom people feel free to approach with their issues. Connecting with people is an art, and he has mastered it.”
That connection has produced tangible results. During the Sabarimala agitation against women’s entry, when NSS cadre faced over 2,600 police cases, Vasavan ensured nearly 2,000 were withdrawn and conveyed the government’s willingness to drop the rest. He also deserves credit for the smooth and incident-free Sabarimala season of 2024-25.
From persuading Mani’s party into the LDF to softening NSS’s stance towards the CPM, Vasavan has shown a knack for the impossible.
A man who once battled Chandy and Mani on their home turf has become the CPM’s most trusted bridge builder in central Kerala — proof that political instincts and soft skills can outweigh pedigree and polish.