Left parties on edge as BJP ‘expands base’ in Kerala

Ravi S Singh
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, October 17

The Left parties are on the edge as the BJP expands its footprint in the Left-ruled state of Kerala, taking advantage of the developments surrounding entry of women devotees in the Sabarimala temple before the General Election.

Left leaders rationalise the allegations of its state government’s laxity in not taking action against those, including BJP, who have hit the roads against the entry of women into the temple.

The Left leaders’ relief at the BJP central leadership welcoming SC judgment lifting the ban on women’s entry into the temple has been cut short by the Kerala BJP taking a contrarian position.

The Kerala BJP’s political calisthenics of taking centre-stage in a state-wide agitation against the court judgment has put Left parties in a political bind, exposing its vulnerabilities. The CPM-led Left government abides by Left ideology of secularism, but feels constrained not to initiate stern action against those violating the judicial verdict.

Lord Aiyappa, the presiding deity of the temple, has a huge following across southern states. Strict police measure on devotees opposing the judgment would give a handle to the BJP to further fish in troubled waters, thereby increasing its presence by cashing on sympathy of the devotees.

CPI head Sudhakar Reddy said the issue was sensitive and the government was treading with caution. “It is clear that BJP is trying to make its presence felt in a state where it has no base, but the government is constrained not to use stern police measures against protesters considering that it is also a social issue,” he said. 

A CPM central committee leader from Kerala also echoed similar sentiments. The deity has a huge following in Kerala, and other southern states where the BJP’s presence as compared to north India is poor. The wariness of the Left leaders has a deeper political context. The RSS in one of its conclave this year had identified Kerala and TMC-ruled West Bengal among the target states.

Kerala remains the last bastion state of the Left as the BJP has ousted it from Tripura and the TMC dethroned it from West Bengal. Now, in WB, the BJP has emerged as a force bigger, if not equal, to the CPM.