Kerala politics in churn as NSS tilt, SNDP overtures boost CPI(M)

It was no surprise that SNDP Yogam general secretary Vellappalli Natesan arrived at the Travancore Devaswom Board’s Ayyappa Conclave last week, in Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s car, seated alongside him.

The two have kept close company for some time now, and their association at public events has become almost routine, despite Natesan’s reputation for sharp, often controversial remarks against minority communities at will. What did surprise everyone was what followed from a different corner.

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NSS general secretary G Sukumaran Nair, known for his careful words and his declared ‘equidistant policy’ from all political formations, went on record in recent interviews praising the LDF government. He did not stop there. He trained his criticism on the Congress and the BJP with an unusual sharpness, questioning their commitment to faith and tradition while crediting the ruling front for safeguarding them.

“Both the BJP and the Congress boycotted the Ayyappa Conclave for vote bank politics, with the elections approaching. As far as the Congress is concerned, it seems they do not want Hindu votes. Maybe they only want minority votes,” said Nair in a recent interview.

NSS signals shifting ground

The twin signals—Natesan’s visible bonhomie with the chief minister and Nair’s warm words for the government—have set off speculation about whether Kerala’s carefully balanced community politics is entering a new phase. For decades, the political leanings of the state’s major Hindu community organisations were seen as relatively stable.

The Nair Service Society (NSS) once had its own political wing, the National Democratic Party (NDP), which functioned as a loyal ally of the Congress within the United Democratic Front during the 1980s. After it was dissolved in 1996, the organisation famously adopted an “equidistant” stance, under the leadership of late PK Narayana Panicker, maintaining formal neutrality between all political parties.

Despite this, most of the community continued to support the Congress with several of its leaders joining the grand old party, including Therambil Ramakrishnan, who had been the Assembly speaker during 1991-96 and 2004-2006, though in recent years some segments have started drifting toward the BJP. The NSS leadership, however, remained largely out of reach for the saffron camp, its organisational loyalty still with the UDF, except during the turbulence of the Sabarimala agitation. After the Sabarimala fiasco of 2018, over the past five to six years, some NSS units had shown a gradual rightward tilt, making the general secretary’s recent warmth toward the Left particularly significant.

Shifting caste-political equations

On the other hand, the SNDP, inheriting the legacy of the renaissance led by Sree Narayana Guru, has historically been populated by pro-Communist Ezhavas. The CPI(M)’s mass base in Kerala is largely attributed to the Ezhava community and the Dalits, while upper-caste support has always been relatively limited. However, for the last two decades, the BJP had been trying to make inroads into this base.

A section of the SNDP later floated the Bharath Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS), which eventually tied itself to the BJP-led NDA. In the last two general elections, the BDJS, the political wing of the SNDP, has functioned as a key ally of the NDA, with Thushar, the son of Vellappalli Natesan, at its helm. While the SNDP historically drew its base from the pro-Communist Ezhava community, this political outfit has given the organisation a formal channel to engage in electoral politics alongside the BJP. Thushar’s leadership has sought to consolidate the SNDP’s influence in key constituencies, translating the social and cultural weight of the organisation into tangible political leverage, even as the broader community retains ties to multiple ideological currents.

That certainty has now been shaken. The NDP is a thing of the past, and Congress no longer has a structured bridge to the NSS. Its reliance on personal relationships with leaders in Perunna diminished with the deaths of stalwarts like Oommen Chandy and KM Mani. The present leadership has been less attentive to the NSS, and complaints of neglect have grown.

CPI(M)’s cautious caste calculus

Simultaneously, the BDJS, despite being the SNDP’s political wing, has not brought the BJP the gains it once promised. Election after election, the BJP’s hopes of breaking through in Kerala have faltered, and the limits of the BDJS’s influence are now clear.

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In this changing political atmosphere, the CPI(M) has been quietly altering its approach. A party that once proclaimed itself as above caste and community calculations has been more pragmatic in recent years. It has taken care to consult on temple affairs, adjusted its handling of Sabarimala after the turbulence of 2018, and kept steady lines of communication with both the NSS and SNDP leadership. The aim has not been to enter into formal alliances, but to ensure that these powerful organisations do not mobilise against the ruling front. By projecting itself as respectful of tradition and willing to listen, the CPI(M) has been trying to create space for a less hostile relationship.

“Even if there may be a temporary gain that allows the LDF to remain in power, the real beneficiary of this strategy will be the Sangh Parivar. Every move by the CPI(M) ends up giving more political legitimacy to the Hindutva agenda. Pinarayi’s game rests on the mistaken belief that he will win. In reality, he is playing into the hands of Hindutva. The gains will ultimately go to them. The Congress’s old strategy of winning power by appeasing Nairs and upper-caste Christians will not work as it did before,” observes K Sunil Kumar, senior journalist and political commentator.

Congress losing NSS connect

For the Congress, this is the most worrying development. The UDF has long depended on NSS goodwill to consolidate Nair support in central and southern Kerala.

After the NDP era, the Congress has lacked an organisational vehicle to anchor that relationship. What remained were personal connections between senior leaders and the Perunna headquarters. As those figures passed from the scene, the party leadership failed to cultivate successors who could maintain the same ties.

Now the NSS is not only keeping its distance but also openly acknowledging the LDF’s responsiveness. Even if this does not translate into direct support for the ruling front, it represents a loosening of the UDF’s hold. This is exactly why the Congress leadership hell bent on arranging a meeting between Priyanka Gandhi and the NSS leadership in the coming days.

BJP’s Hindu front falters

For the BJP, the implications are equally serious. Its alliance with the BDJS was meant to provide a solid organisational link to the Ezhava community and to strengthen its claim of leading a broader Hindu consolidation. But the BDJS has struggled to deliver results, and the SNDP leadership has always kept its options open.

By appearing with Pinarayi Vijayan, Natesan signalled that his organisation is not bound exclusively to the BJP. At the same time, the NSS’s open criticism of the BJP underlines the difficulties the party faces in winning over Nair voters. The picture of a consolidated Hindu front under BJP leadership seems to be increasingly diminishing.

LDF’s patient outreach pays

The LDF, meanwhile, has managed to gain ground without breaking its own ideological posture. It has not entered into formal community alliances, but by projecting itself as respectful, consultative, and steady, it has created the impression that powerful community leaders are willing to acknowledge its approach.

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“The CPI(M) has never taken, nor will it ever take, a stance against any faith. The party is with the believers,” says party state secretary MV Govindan.

The larger picture is that Kerala’s community politics is becoming more fluid. The developments of September 2025 may come to be seen as a turning point. A routine image of Natesan with the chief minister was followed by an unusually sharp intervention from Sukumaran Nair, and together they altered the political conversation. For the CPI(M) and the LDF, it represents a validation of their strategy of patient outreach. For Congress, it is a reminder of the cost of neglect. For the BJP, it is a signal that its project of Hindu consolidation faces more obstacles than opportunities.