KOCHI: With just four days left for the assembly elections, there is apprehension over the political stand of caste groups and religious denominations in the state.
The Nair Service Society, which represents the Nair community, has adopted an equidistance policy in elections for more than a decade.
But the decision of the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam, which represents the Ezhava community, and Kerala Pulayar Maha Sabha (KPMS), which represents the Dalit Pulaya community, to avoid declaring public support to any political front has come as a surprise.
The SNDP Yogam and KPMS had been supporters of CPM and were vociferous in their support to the Left movement till recently. Does this indicate a change in the stand of the caste organisations or whether it is a tactical approach is the million dollar question.
The state government’s decision to implement the reservation for economically weaker sections in forward communities has been welcomed by the NSS, but the delay in publishing the list of caste groups eligible for reservation has annoyed them.
Besides, the Nair community was hurt by the government stand on the Sabarimala issue and the NSS was in the forefront of the legal battle to protect the age-old practices of the hill shrine.
However, the NSS has been supportive of the Congress from the time of its founder, Mannath Padmanabhan.
The Ezhava community has always been the support base of CPM in Kerala and SNDP Yogam general secretary Vellappally Natesan used to support Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan vociferously till recently.
He was made the chairman of the Renaissance Protection Samithi (RPS) formed by the CPM to counter Sabarimala protests and promote renaissance values among Hindus.
However, the decision of the LDF government to implement forward community reservation has upset the community. Vellappally has decided not to support any political party this time.
It is learnt that Vellappally decided to stay neutral as the biggest challenge for him is the Yogam election which is set to be held in three months.
His son Thushar Vellappally, who leads Bharath Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS), a constituent of NDA in Kerala, is active in campaigning. However, he decided not to contest the election despite pressure from the BJP.
The KPMS, which supported entry of young women at Sabarimala vociferously and was active in the campaign for renaissance, turned hostile to the CPM after the government decided to implement the forward community reservation.
“The decision to provide reservation to communities that enjoy high social status will only increase social polarisation. The CPM, which declared that it would not implement CAA and farm laws, implemented forward community reservation in haste, refusing to accept our suggestion to appoint a commission to study its social impact. Both UDF and LDF are not speaking about our demand to implement reservation in the private sector. Hence, we have decided not to support anyone this time,” said KPMS general secretary Punnala Sreekumar.
“There is ambiguity regarding the political stand of NSS and SNDP Yogam,” said social activist M N Karassery.
“Though the NSS is happy with the implementation of forward community reservation, it has been criticising the government for the approach on Sabarimala issue. The equidistance policy of NSS is nothing new,” he said.
According to Karassery, it is the forward community reservation that has alienated the SNDP Yogam and KPMS from the CPM.
“While a majority of the Ezhava community and Vellappally supported the Left, it was not a hurdle for Thushar Vellappally to align with the BJP. While NSS and SNDP Yogam have bargaining power, the Dalits including Pulaya, Paraya and Kalladi communities have not been able to form a vote bank, though they constitute 10 per cent of the population,” said Karassery.
“We cannot predict how the caste equations will work this time. But there is a growing trend of caste and denominations of religions forming vote banks which is a dangerous,” he said.
“The caste groups have always been trying to create vote banks so that they can protect their interests. However, I feel the NSS and SNDP Yogam are in a dilemma this time. Besides, the growing influence of BJP among the Hindu communities has caused concern among the caste leaders. The Christian denominations are also puzzled over the influence of RSS campaign like ‘love jihad’ among the community. Kerala has a strong secular fabric. Though communities play a dominant role, they have always defeated attempts to create communal polarisation,” said Kerala University Social Science faculty dean Shaji Varkey.