In Kerala, CPM invokes Ayyappa to blunt Sangh advances

Some Hindu activists approached the Kerala HC and the Supreme Court against the Ayyappa Sangamam, raising concerns that Lord Ayyappa’s name and the Devaswom’s funds were being misused for a political event.

The CPM-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) government’s surprising decision to organise the Global Ayyappa Sangamam on the banks of the Pamba River near the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple on September 20 has sparked intense debate in Kerala.

More surprisingly, the LDF government is also planning similar meetings of the various segments of the society, including the minority communities, to discuss their issues.

The critics see this as a political manoeuvre -- the underlying aim appears to be pre-empting the Hindutva forces from appropriating Ayyappa and the powerful cultural symbolism of Sabarimala.

The Pinarayi Vijayan government insists that the Global Ayyappa Sangamam is not a state government event but that of the Travancore Devaswom Board, which manages the temple and is marking its platinum jubilee celebrations. Officially, the purpose is to discuss the development plans for the hill shrine and attract more pilgrims to the temple.

But the political calculation of the CPM is quite clear: to maintain a soft Hindutva approach to arrest the drift of the Hindu-Ezhava votes towards the Bharatiya Janata Party, while bringing other Hindu groups closer to the party by shedding its anti-Hindu image.

The Ezhavas, Kerala’s largest Hindu community comprising 23% of the population, have long been considered the backbone of the Communist vote. However, in recent elections, BJP has made inroads into Ezhava strongholds. A strong BJP-Sangh Parivar campaign against ‘minority appeasement’ by both the LDF and the opposition Congress-led United Democratic Front played a key role in this drift. After the 2024 Lok Sabha election results, CPM leadership acknowledged this erosion by openly speaking out against the trend. 

The reactions of Congress and BJP to the Sangamam -- what could be termed Pinarayi government’s social engineering strategy -- betray their unease. With the event organised just ahead of the local body and Assembly polls in the state, both fear losing ground. Major Hindu outfits such as the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP), representing the Hindu-Ezhava community, and the Nair Service Society (NSS), representing Nairs, have also extended their support to the Ayyappa Sangamam. They are also wary of appearing to obstruct “development” at Sabarimala, lest they be seen as opposing the interests of Hindu pilgrims. 

Instead, they have raked up memories of the bitter 2018-2019 conflicts when the state government sought to enforce the Supreme Court’s order permitting women of all ages to enter Sabarimala (temple rules prohibit the entry of women of menstruating age). Both Congress and BJP now ask whether the CPM government will withdraw its affidavit supporting women’s entry, and they point to the still-pending cases against those
who protested. 

While the invitation extended to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, an avowed atheist, to the Global Ayyappa Sangamam came as a boon for the BJP and Sangh Parivar groups to question the intention of the event, the row was averted with Stalin deciding to keep away and instead deputing two of his cabinet colleagues, HR&CE minister P K Sekarbabu and IT minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan -- both reportedly ardent devotees of Ayyappa.

Some Hindu activists had even approached the Kerala High Court and the Supreme Court against the Ayyappa Sangamam, raising concerns that Lord Ayyappa’s name and the Devaswom’s funds were being misused for a political event and that the event, which is expected to witness participation of over 3,000 persons from different places,
will affect the sanctity of the venue. But the high court gave the go-ahead, and the Supreme Court refused to interfere.

A recent row over procedural lapses in removing the gold-plating of the idols of Dwarapalaka at Sabarimala temple for repair works were also used by the BJP and Sangh Parivar outfits to campaign against the CPM government, which has moved ahead with the preparations for the Ayyappa Sangamam.

As the CPM government continues preparations for the Sangamam, political analysts are not ruling out the chances of the party suffering more loss than gain from the social engineering strategy.

“The CPM is now making an attempt to make electoral gain by appeasing all communities, which is never expected from a Communist party. The CPM may or may not gain from it. But strategies with communal objectives might not go down well with the party’s secular vote base. Hence, there is a chance of this move backfiring on the CPM,” says political analyst J Prabash.

There is even criticism that the decision to hold the Ayyappa Sangamam was taken without much discussion in the CPM or LDF. But voices of discontent have remained muted, thanks to Pinarayi’s strong grip on the party, especially after scripting a second consecutive win in 2021 despite adverse factors like the Sabarimala women’s entry issue.

As the lone communist government in the country turns to an emotive plank like faith for political leverage, it appears that the Sangh Parivar forces have succeeded in reshaping electoral narratives in a state marked for its progressive, secular history.