KOZHIKODE: On the heels of tribal leader and Janadhipathya Rashtriya Party (JRP) founder C K Janu getting inducted into the UDF and the Adivasi Gothra Mahasabha, led by Dalit activist M Geethanandan, extending support to the front, tribal activist Sreeraman Koyyon has joined the Congress. Koyyon, along with his supporters, joined the party at a press conference in Kannur, in the presence of DCC president Martin George.
The series of developments is learnt to be a conscious effort on the part of the Congress leadership to project a face of ‘inclusive politics’ and to wean away tribals and Dalits, who form a strong support base of the CPM. Serious discussions are also under way to field Dalit intellectual and activist Sunny M Kapicaud as an independent candidate from Vaikom constituency while Janu is being considered for the Mananthavady seat.
Dalit activists are enthused by Congress’ move to recognise them and their leaders. “It seems the Congress is finally opening its door to the Dalits and tribal communities. Inducting C K Janu as an associate member of the UDF is a significant move. The Dalit communities have been politically organised in Kerala for a long time without being part of any front,” Geethanandan said.
“It was relatively easy for individuals like M V Raghavan or R Balakrishna Pillai to get accommodated into a front, which was not the case for Dalit or Adivasi organisations,” he said. Geethanandan said Janu’s entry into the UDF may not fetch many votes for the front but it is a positive signal.
“We understand that the initiative has been launched under the leadership of V D Satheesan. The CPM has been treating Dalits and adivasis as their permanent vote bank.” he said.
Koyyon said Dalit and tribal communities have suffered the most in the last ten years of continuous LDF rule. Many students have been denied grants, affecting their education, and there has been large-scale corruption in the utilisation of funds meant for these communities, he said.
“There is no point in Dalits remaining mere spectators while an alleged LDF-BJP unity tries to portray Kerala as a communal state. Our hope lies in uniting Dalits and Adivasis, and extending support to bring the UDF to power. I stopped working in the Congress more than two decades ago, and I took part in various protests even during Congress rule,” he said.
Meanwhile, Sangh parivar organisations have objected to fielding Sunny as a candidate in Vaikom. “If the news of the candidature is true it could only be considered as a Congress challenge to the Hindu community,” Hindu Aikya Vedi leader R V Babu wrote in a Facebook post.
Sunny has been trying to divide the Hindu community in the name of caste and such a person should not be elected from the land of Vaikkathappan, Babu said.