RSS trying to emulate UP model to enter Kerala: CPM

NEW DELHI: Less than a year ahead of assembly elections, Kerala politics is witnessing a churn not seen in a long time. For a state that has regularly swung between Congress-led United Democratic Front and CPM-led Left Democratic Front, the BJP is trying to make more than a cameo presence by cosying up to powerful social organization like Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP).
With BJP ruling the Centre, CPM acknowledges that the threat is genuine and needs to be dealt with politically and ideologically. The growing presence of Hindu right-wing parties, CPM leaders said, would be discussed in the party plenum on organization to be held in December. As of now, the party is working at all levels – districts to wards – and exposing, what party MP K N Balagopal said, the real purpose of the alliance between SNDP and BJP.
“BJP needs social organizations like SNDP as a shield for its communal politics,” he said. “RSS is focusing on Kerala and trying to emulate the UP model. It is appropriating caste organizations and pumping money. Irony is Congress can be managed. Ideologically, Congress and BJP can swap places,” he added.
Senior party leader and politburo member S Ramachandran Pillai found a bigger fault with the tango between SNDP and BJP. “Philosophy of SNDP is against communalism and upper caste hegemony. How can they cohabit? It is a section of the SNDP leadership that is behind the move, not its rank and file,” he said.
Balagopal said being with BJP helped the business interests of SNDP leadership. Already, there are serious allegations of financial impropriety and nepotism against Vellapally Natesan, general secretary of SNDP. Also, there is a breakaway group – Sree Narayana Dharma Vedi – working against Natesan and other leaders of SNDP.
The Left is hopeful that like in the past, SNDP’s open relationship with a political party will be short-lived. Balagopal said the Socialist Revolutionary Party was formed by them but did not last. He said even Nair Service Society (NSS) had National Democratic Party. “The two experiments failed. Kerala is not like any other state,” he said, adding that BJP should realize that the way to voters’ heart in the state could only be through social reform.
On their part, both Pillai and Balagopal said CPM has taken the BJP challenge seriously and has so far held thousands of meetings throughout the state. “BJP is trying to attack us ideologically but we have a strong past and a promising future. We have played a crucial role in social reform and keeping communal forces at bay,” Balagopal said.