Sabarimala, the sequel

The Congress and the BJP rekindle the Sabarimala issue

surendran-chennithala Matter of faith: Ramesh Chennithala and K. Surendran (left) have repeatedly raised the Sabarimala issue during their campaign | Jinse Michael, Rinkuraj Mattancheriyil

Recently, a huge billboard came up at Thiruvananthapuram’s Bakery Junction, a prominent spot in the state capital. It featured a collage of photographs of BJP state president K. Surendran during the agitation against the Supreme Court verdict allowing women of menstrual age entry into the Sabarimala temple. The billboard was an indication that, with just two weeks left for the assembly elections, the shrine had re-entered the political discourse of the state.

And, the ruling Left Democratic Front is feeling the heat.

If one were to single out the biggest electoral mistake the Pinarayi Vijayan-led state government has made, it would be the “overzealousness” it showed in implementing the court verdict. The deity at the Sabarimala temple is a naishtika brahmachari (strict celibate), and the entry of women there angered a large group of believers. The left paid a huge price; it won only one of 20 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

While all political parties had welcomed the 2018 verdict as a “progressive step towards gender equality”, both the Congress and the BJP changed their tone sensing the pulse on the ground. They even hit the streets against the order.

But the LDF, especially Vijayan, decided to follow the verdict in letter and spirit. He saw it as an opportunity for a “second renaissance movement” in the state and as a huge step towards gender equality. He must have also sensed the possibility of a grand alliance of OBCs and dalits, along with minorities, even though the upper castes were vehemently against the verdict.

What Vijayan did not realise was that matters of faith were deeper than his communist view of progressive politics. He failed to understand that, for many common men and women, rituals and traditions were more important than political leanings. That the LDF government facilitated the entry of two women into the shrine was something the believers were not willing to forgive.

“Being the head of the government, the chief minister may have to follow the verdict. But the court did not ask the government to ensure the entry of women at all costs,” said Rahul Easwar, a prominent face of the agitation. “The LDF paid a price for its overzealousness and it will continue to pay.”

Having burnt its fingers, the LDF decided to mellow its stance. It started a house-to-house campaign that saw senior leaders visiting believers. When the Supreme Court, while hearing a review petition, referred certain questions to a larger constitutional bench—to consider the limits of the court’s powers in deciding conflicts between religious and other rights—the LDF maintained a guarded silence.

And, with the LDF sweeping the local polls in December, even as it was mired in a gold smuggling controversy, the left may have heaved a sigh of relief. “I do not think that it (Sabarimala) is an issue at the moment,” Vijayan had told THE WEEK last month.

It seems he was wrong. With days left for the elections, the Congress and the BJP have been bringing up Sabarimala more than ever.

Amid this, on March 11, Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran expressed regret over what happened at the Sabarimala temple because of the verdict. CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, however, said that the party had not changed its position. “The CPI(M) believes in equality, and that the LDF government had no other option but to implement the Supreme Court verdict,” he said.

Yechury’s statement has made the party leadership go into damage control mode. “We were happy to see regret from CPI(M) leaders. But Yechury once again proved that the CPI(M) is against believers,” said Easwar.

The opposition, especially the Congress, is happy to have got this lifeline. “The opposition has no other issue against the government,” said advocate and political observer A. Jayashankar. “There is no anti-incumbency, there are no corruption allegations. The Congress and the BJP realise the potency of the issue and they will use it to the maximum.”

But will it have the same impact it did in 2019? “It will certainly have an impact in select pockets,” he said. “The scar of Sabarimala is yet to heal completely and it may work against those who are seen as strong advocates of the entry of women into the shrine. It is Ayyappan vs CPI(M) in certain constituencies.”

Psephologist D. Dhanuraj agreed. “Sabarimala will not have a 2019-like impact,” he said. “But it will have some impact, especially in the south. It can affect the fate of a few leaders who had aggressively supported the verdict. It may have been a progressive step, but it was a huge blunder electorally.”

In 2019, the Congress had benefited from the issue even though BJP workers had hit the streets and been arrested. “We will not allow the Congress to reap the benefits of our labour,” Surendran told THE WEEK. “All anti-CPI(M) votes will come to us.”

Political observers, however, say that it would be the Congress that would benefit again. “The BJP may get the anti-CPI(M) votes in 15 to 20 constituencies where it is strong,” said political observer K. Jayaprasad. “In the rest, those votes are likely to go to the Congress.”

The Congress manifesto has promised an ordinance to protect the interest of believers and the party sounds confident about the Sabarimala issue helping it this time, too. “The Congress has always been with the believers. We will protect their interests,” said state party president Mullappally Ramachandran.

The party, however, has decided not to be as aggressive as the BJP. Rahul Gandhi, who was the first political leader to welcome the move, is reportedly not too keen on opposing the verdict. The party had withdrawn a video it had put out on the issue as it was deemed anti-women.

As per observers, the opposition’s use of the Sabarimala issue has another angle to it. “If one goes by pre-poll surveys, Pinarayi Vijayan is the most popular political leader among women,” said Jayaprasad. “And, ironically, it was they who had vehemently opposed the entry of women into Sabarimala. The opposition parties are trying to use Sabarimala to wean away women voters from the left.”

As Kerala goes to the polls on April 6, what remains to be seen is whether the Vijayan government’s performance can offset the simmering wrath of believers.

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