THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: After the Nair Service Society (NSS), the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam has also opened its doors to Chief Minister V D Satheesan, giving fresh impetus to the letter’s efforts to build bridges with influential Hindu community organisations and broaden his social base.
The back-to-back developments are politically significant as Satheesan seeks to establish his acceptability across community lines while consolidating his position within the Congress. His outreach to the NSS and the SNDP’s willingness to engage with him come at a time when sections of the Congress have been critical of his perceived proximity to Jamaat-e-Islami and the influence of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML).
The NSS engagement marked a departure from the earlier confrontation between Satheesan and its general secretary G Sukumaran Nair. The two had locked horns after Satheesan remarked that political leaders should not visit the doorsteps of community leaders.
However, after becoming chief minister, Satheesan took the initiative to end the estrangement and accepted the NSS invitation to inaugurate the Mannam Jayanthi celebrations at the organisation’s headquarters in Perunna on January 2, 2027.
The SNDP’s subsequent engagement with him has added another dimension to his community outreach.
The political significance of the exercise goes beyond maintaining cordial relations with community organisations.
“Satheesan is seeking to establish himself as a leader who can independently engage with influential social groups rather than remain confined to the political equations of the Congress and its allies,” a senior Congress leader said.
According to him, the outreach also offers Satheesan an opportunity to counter criticism that his political leanings are towards Muslim organisations, particularly the IUML and Jamaat-e-Islami.
Satheesan is the first Nair to occupy the chief minister’s post in nearly 25 years, a development that assumes significance in a party where two other prominent Nair leaders, Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala and AICC general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal, continue to wield considerable influence.
“If CPM leader E K Nayanar is not considered in terms of community identity, Satheesan is the first Nair chief minister since K Karunakaran resigned in 1995,” political commentator Adv S Jayasankar told TNIE. “Though Satheesan accepted the invitation, he is a leader who would not yield to anyone, not even Rahul Gandhi,” he said.
Satheesan’s position as chief minister gives him a distinct platform to cultivate relationships with community leaders. The SNDP Yogam’s outreach extends this exercise beyond the Nair community to the influential Ezhava social base.
“The SNDP Yogam has no issues with the chief minister. My approach is issue based rather than ideological,” Yogam general secretary Vellappally Natesan told TNIE.
Natesan, however, recalled that Satheesan had not attended the R Sankar memorial day celebrations on November 6 despite being invited to inaugurate the event.
“He had initially said that he would consider attending it. However, he later informed us that he had another programme scheduled. I don’t think his inability to attend should be construed as a sign of any differences,” Natesan said.