SNDP-NSS call for unity raises questions over political outcomes in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram: As the prominent forums representing two major Hindu communities in Kerala, Ezhava and Nair, make a call for Hindu unity, the curious question doing the rounds is which political party will benefit from the move and whether the unity will be short-lived as it used to happen earlier.

Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP) general secretary Vellappally Natesan and Nair Service Society general secretary G Sukumaran Nair made the call for Ezhava-Nair unity stating it as a need for the hour.

The SNDP leadership meeting on Wednesday gave the nod for the move and the NSS general secretary welcomed it.

Even as Natesan and Nair's open backing for Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and criticism against opposition leader V D Satheesan of the Congress could be interpreted as a pro-CPM move, the SNDP has deputed Natesan's son and SNDP vice president Tushar Vellappally to hold discussion with the NSS.

Tushar being the president of Bharath Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS), a key coalition partner of the BJP in Kerala, the chances of the SNDP-NSS unity working in favour of the BJP could not be also ruled out. Already there has been considerable flow of Nair and Ezhava votes to BJP in the state over the couple of elections.

Nair told reporters that he would welcome Tushar as an SNDP leader and not as a political party representative.

Even as SNDP and NSS had announced alliances on a couple of occasions earlier also, those did not last long. SNDP represents the Ezhava community that comes under the OBC category while NSS represents the Nair community which is a forward caste coming in the general category. Hence the two forums often clash over reservation with SNDP accusing the Nair community of getting more prominence in government jobs.

Ezhava is the largest Hindu community in Kerala with around 22 percent of state population and Nair is the second largest Hindu community representing around 12 percent of state population.

Already the unrest within the community over the SDNP-NSS alliance started coming out in the open. SNDP former president C K Vidyasagar alleged that the ongoing pro-CPM moves by Natesan and Nair were to protect their vested interests as both of them face various allegations and cases and they also want to protect their vested interests. He also said that Nair-Ezhava unity was not part of SNDP's stated objectives.

Are the leaders influential?

Meanwhile, the influence of Natesan and Nair over the community leaders is also a matter of question. Even as Nair openly took a stand against Pinarayi VIjayan government on the polling day in 2021 assembly elections, the left-front under Vijayan's leadership retained power by improving its position.

Senior political analyst Jacob George said that the present move by Natesan and Nair could be also seen as one to protect their personal vested interests.

"Compared to the founder and former leaders of NSS and SNDP like Mannathu Padmanabhan and former Chief Minister R Shankar the contributions of the present leaders for the community are negligible. Hence they did not have much influence among the members of their respective communities. Indeed, many politicians are more influential than the present leaders of NSS and SNDP," he said.