From P. Sreekumaran
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The caste syndrome is getting more pronounced in Kerala politics. That is the unmistakable message emanating from the formation of a new political party called the Kerala People’s Front (KPF) by the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam, an organization of the Ezhava community.
The development must worry the CPI(M) the most as Ezhavas constitute the mainstay of the party. And any attempt by the community to float a political party to espouse the causes dear to the Ezhavas is bond to severely dent the support base of the CPI(M), which is already plagued by a plethora of problems.
Formation of the KPF amounts to a stinging rebuff to both the principal political fronts monopolising Kerala’s political space, the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) and the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF). It is the dismal failure of the fronts to address the concerns of backward communities, including the Ezhavas, that has forced the SNDP to form a political party.
All that SNDP general secretary, Vellappally Natesan, who is the chairman of the new party, has done is to canalize the mounting anger of the backward communities at the perceived neglect of the Ezhavas in particular and other OBCs in general by successive governments into fructifying his political plan.
Explaining the reasons for the formation of the new party, Mr Natesan made no secret of his dismay at the overlooking of the interests of the backward communities, including the SCs and STs, by all the political parties, communal parties and casteist forces.
“Although the backward communities constitute 40 per cent of the population, they have been alienated in the social and political fronts,’ Mr Natesan alleged, adding that ”this was due to the fact that the backward communities are disorganized.” The new party would strive to ensure for the backward communities greater access to land, power, employment and quality education. Among the other objectives are second land reforms and reservation in the private sector, he said.
This is not the first time that a caste or community organization has launched a political party. Years ago, the Nair Service Society (NSS) had also formed a political party called the National Democratic Party (NDP). But wiser counsels prevailed later and Mr P K Narayana Panicker, who took over as NSS president from Kidangur Gopalakrishna Pillai, took the right decision to disband it following the NDP’s singular failure to make any impact on Kerala politics.
It is too early to say that a similar fate will overtake the SNDP’s party. But one thing is for sure. The SNDP has a larger spread than the NSS and therefore, can hope to have greater longevity. And in Vellappally Natesan, the KFP has a leader who is known for his organizational and manipulative skill and political dexterity. Also, the new party claims the backing of as many as 50 organisations. If the claim is true, then early political mortality of the new outfit can be ruled out.
Whatever the denouement, the development – a dangerous and most undesirable trend – has ominous implications for the state which has in the past blazed many a welcome trail in politics. However, the increasing influence religious, caste and community organizations have come to exert on mainstream political parties, governments in the state and on governance of late, bodes ill for the state’s polity. The politics of appeasement being assiduously practised by the ruling UDF has also encouraged religious, caste and community organizations to dictate terms to the ruling dispensation and extract their pound of flesh to the exclusion of large sections of society, especially the majority community. It is the anger against perceived marginalization and pandering to the minorities that has prompted organizations like the SNDP to have heir own political formations No getting away from the fact that Kerala politics is in for troubled times.