KOCHI: Xavier P (name changed), a native of Kuravilangadu panchayat in central Kerala’s Kaduthuruthy assembly constituency, is yet to make up his mind on whom to vote. “There is some resentment among voters that Jose K Mani is associating with a front (LDF) that tried to finish (K M) Mani sir’s political life,” said the 73-year-old, who’s settled in this predominantly rubber belt.
There is another factor that weighs on his mind. If he votes UDF to power, it will lead to the formation of a government where the Muslim League will call the shots and may corner five ministerial positions, including, perhaps, a deputy CM post. In an FB post last December, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had said the League was deciding matters in Congress and UDF.
The Syro-Malabar Church Synod had in January last year sought a probe into alleged incidents of Christian girls being lured into marriage for carrying out Islamic terror activities. The simmering tension came to a boil after IUML leader Panakkad Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal, in an article in the party daily Chandrika last August, favoured Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s move to convert Hagia Sophia into a mosque. Syro-Malabar Christians, at about 24 lakh people, form the biggest group among Catholics in Kerala. They are also peeved with IUML, the second-biggest constituent in UDF, as it opposed the Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF government’s move to implement 10 per cent reservation for economically weaker sections (EWS) from forward communities in state jobs and educational institutions. The Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council (KCBC) reckons the quota would benefit hundreds of poor among Syro-Malabar Catholics, who comes under forward caste in Kerala.
Jose’s KC(M), the third biggest constituent in LDF post seat allocation, hopes to repeat its stupendous performance in last year’s civic body polls – when it made inroads in UDF strongholds in central Kerala, wresting power in Kottayam and Idukki district panchayats, besides winning several municipalities and panchayats – in the assembly elections. LDF is banking on Jose’s KC(M) to do an encore in rubber belt after it allotted as much as 11 seats to the party.
“The Church, we believe, was instrumental in Jose severing ties with UDF. We also have information that top Church heads were directly involved in nominating candidates for Jose’s KC(M) in Chalakudy and Perumbavoor,” said Shyju Antony, a core committee member of Almaya Munnettam (Laity Movement) at Koratty. “The Catholic Church is ensuring that it has a say whoever comes to power,” he said.
Writer Paul Zachariah, a close observer of the Church in Kerala, said late K M Mani never represented the Church. “Mani and those close to him prospered. The Church used Mani and the latter used the Church,” he said. Zachariah feels the Church wouldn’t have any problem in dealing with either the UDF or LDF, but it is still grappling with how to get close to BJP.
Coming to the tension between the two communities, sources said the appointment of former CM Oommen Chandy as head of the Congress election strategy team in Kerala in mid-January eased the situation to an extent. League leaders led by P K Kunhalikutty have been meeting heads of the Church, including Thamarassery Archbishop Remigos Inchananiyil and Syro-Malankara Catholic church’s major archbishop Cardinal Mar Baselious Cleemis, to resolve any misunderstanding.
Last month, Cardinal Mar George Alenchery, Syro-Malabar Church head, praised the LDF government’s efforts in handling the Covid pandemic in Kerala, in an indirect endorsement of the ruling front. “When faced with a crisis, people get shattered, but what is making Kerala happy is the fact that the CM and health minister were able to take on the crisis as a challenge and convert it into an opportunity to excel,” Alenchery, who is also KCBC chief, had said.
KCBC, however, made its official stand via a statement on Thursday. It urged the faithful and society to vote for ideal candidates after analysing their development plans. It also said it has taken an open stance towards political parties.
The Catholic Church in Kerala was at the forefront to topple the EMS Namboothiripad government, the first elected government in India, in 1959 through the infamous ‘Vimochana Samaram’ (Liberation Struggle). As Kerala goes to polls next month, the Catholic Church’s relationship with Communists may be nearing full circle.