New Delhi: The Sabarimala clouds are once again gathering over Kerala’s political horizon. Not that the cloud had faded away completely, but the intensity had come down. There was no doubt that the BJP, which spearheaded the “Save Sabarimala” campaign for over five months would allow the issue to die down, especially during election time. But even before BJP leaders could say “Saranamayyappa”, the Kerala Chief Election Officer had ignited passions by ruling that the word “Sabarimala” could not be used during election campaigns. To be fair, the CEO, Teeka Ram Meena, with his broken Malayalam, was badly misunderstood at the very beginning. What he had meant clearly was that invoking Sabarimala issue for poll campaigning would amount to violation of the election code of conduct. What he failed to clarify initially was that while the Sabarimala issue per se can be raised during the election campaign, no one will be allowed to seek votes in the name of Lord Ayyappa, for whose chastity devotees had taken to the streets blocking young women from entering the Lord’s abode. “The temple can’t be used to instigate religious feelings. It should not be given a religious dimension. We will keep a strict tab on all such activities,” Meena had said. The issue cannot be exploited blatantly to gain votes, he added. Misrepresenting the 28 September Supreme Court verdict allowing entry of women of all ages into Sabarimala as part of the election campaign also will be considered a violation, he had said. Later at an all-party meeting whatever misunderstandings Meena’s statement had created were supposedly sorted out, though the BJP and the Congress remain unconvinced and sceptical about the implementation of the rules, but the ruling Left, of course, has welcomed CEO’s strictures wholeheartedly.
How the Election Commission is going to “keep a tab” on this controversial issue will only be known as electioneering unfolds in the state, which votes on 23 April, the third phase of polling. On paper the job looks really tough. The BJP has already made its intentions clear. Kummanam Rajasekharan, former Governor of Mizoram, who has been brought back to state politics at the behest of RSS, was quick in his reactions. “The directive not to use the Sabarimala issue during the time of elections is baseless. The issue being raised here is that of freedom of religion…It is the issue of freedom of worship and about rituals and beliefs,” Kummanam had told media persons on arrival in state capital Thiruvananthapuram early this week from where he is likely to contest the Lok Sabha elections. BJP’s agenda in this election in Kerala will be to play the Hindutva card as effectively as possible and for this there is right now nothing better than the Sabarimala issue. Kummanam did not make any bones about it, albeit with a hidden warning about appeasement of minorities by the ruling class. “It is not the issue of Sabarimala alone. Next it can be Bheemappalli or Malayattoor,” Kummanam said, referring to a well known mosque in the capital city and a world famous pilgrimage centre for Christians in central Kerala.
The Congress too has raised objections regarding the CEO’s order saying how such a burning issue should not be raised during election time. Kaleeswaram Raj, a highly respected lawyer in the state, in an article in a vernacular daily too pointed out that while the EC is right in its warning on misuse of religion, “it does not mean you cannot discuss issues regarding Sabarimala, gender justice or gender equality”.
The Left too is bound to raise the subject as one that of the “constitutional duty” of the government to implement the SC order. The EC in Kerala will find the going tough. It is anybody’s guess how the CEO is going to stop BJP from holding “Sarana Mantra” community gatherings or even chanting “Swamiye Saranam Ayyappa Saranam” at public places. In a way it is sad that the issues relating to rehabilitation of flood victims seem to be a forgotten subject in six months’ time. Nobody, not even the government, now speaks about the need to build a New Kerala. The state, which has witnessed one of the worst deluges in almost a century, is back to old ways, with complaints about reopening of quarries or illegal constructions falling on deaf ears.
Ironically, the ruling CPM is fielding a sitting independent MLA backed by the party, who is in the dock for building a water theme park in blatant violation of ecological norms. How much even the political killings will figure during this campaign is to be seen. Not that the BJP or the Congress will skip the issue altogether. But all that will be drowned in the cacophony of Sabarimala this time. It will be no exaggeration to state that even the issue of national security, dominating the discourse of the ruling party in North India, may not find any resonance in this southern state. It is worth remembering that post-Emergency, the excesses in the North had no ripples in Kerala. This time around it seems Sabarimala is going to be the one and only factor that will decide how Kerala votes. Knowingly or unknowingly, the election officer has started it all.