With VS Achutanandan, Mammootty in list, are Padma awards aimed at upcoming Assembly polls?

New Delhi: Former Kerala Chief Minister VS Achutanandan, former editor of BJP’s Malayalam mouthpiece P Narayanan, Kerala OBC leader Vellappally Natesan and actor Mammootty are among 131 Padma awardees announced on the eve of Republic Day on Saturday, a list that was immediately read as one made with an eye on Kerala elections.

Among the poll-bound states, Tamil Nadu has the highest number of 13 Padma awards, including two Padma Bhushans, followed by West Bengal 11, Assam 5 and Puducherry one while Kerala got eight.

CPI(M)’s towering late leader Achutanandan, former Supreme Court judge Justice KT Thomas and Narayanan – all Malayalis – were chosen for Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian award, along with late actor Dharmendra and Hindustani violinist N Rajam, a Tamil. Besides five Padma Vibhushans, 13 Padma Bhushans and 113 Padma Shri awards were announced.

In the Padma Bhushan list, Mammootty, who is considered a Left sympathiser, and Natesan, who leads the Ezhava outfit SNDP, are among 13 other awardees, which also include former Jharkhand Chief Minister late Shibu Soren, late BJP MP VK Malhotra, former Uttarakhand Chief Minister BS Koshiyari, ad-man late Piyush Pandey, singer Alka Yagnik and former tennis star Vijay Amritraj.

Among the poll-bound states, Tamil Nadu has the highest number of 13 Padma awards, including two Padma Bhushans, followed by West Bengal 11, Assam 5 and Puducherry one while Kerala got eight.

One of the highlights was the recognition of Achutanandan, who was a fierce critic of the Sangh Parivar, that could put the CPI(M) in a spot. While his family has welcomed the award, it was only in 2022 former West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya declined it.

Achutanandan’s son Arun Kumar said it was a “big honour” while insisting that he is not aware of party veteran EMS Namboodiripad and Bhattacharya declining the award. Three of the five Padma Vibhusan awards went to Malayalis.

The Padma Bhushan for Natesan is seen as a bid to woo the Ezhavas, an influential OBC community that is said to stand behind the CPI(M). Natesan’s son Tushar Vellappally is the chief of BJDS, which is a BJP ally in Kerala. The award for Mammootty comes months after choosing superstar Mohanlal for the Dadasaheb Phalke award while Narayanan is a well-known RSS organiser.

The ruling BJP is known for subtle political messaging through awards, which includes Bharat Ratna for Bhupen Hazarika, Charan Singh and Karpoori Thakur and the Padma awards for leaders like Sharad Pawar.

Former civil servants K Vijayakumar, who headed the Veerappan hunt, and RVS Mani, who claimed that he was forced to sign documents to fabricate a narrative on Hindutva terrorism, are also among the Padma winners.

Former UGC Chairman and Jawaharlal Nehru University Vice Chancellor Mamidala Jagadeesh Kumar, actor R Madhavan and former Prasar Bharati CEO Shashi Shekhar Vempati were chosen for Padma Shri, as was the late actor Satish Shah.

Four from the trade industry were chosen for the Padma Awards -- industrialist Uday Kotak got Padma Bhushan while TTK Group's late TT Jagannathan, Solar Industries Ltd's Satyanaryanan Nuwal and Ashok Khade of DAS Offshore Engineering Private Ltd got Padma Shri.

From the world of sports, the late Vladimir Mestvirishvili, the architect of India's wrestling resurgence, was chosen for Padma Shri along with seven others. The other Padma Shri winners included top cricketers Rohit Sharma and Harmanpreet Kaur, who captained India to win the T20 World Cup, hockey goalkeeper Savita Punia, para-jumper Praveen Kumar.