CPI (M) shoots itself in the foot by ‘crucifying’ Ezhava icon

Trying to engage in one-upmanship with the BJP, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) seems to have shot itself in the foot.

A float at a cultural rally organised by the party in Kannur district on Saturday witnessed Sree Narayana Guru, 19th century socio-religious reformer and icon of the Ezhava caste – the CPI(M)’s electoral mainstay – depicted as being ‘crucified’ by the Sangh Parivar.

The party has a long-standing feud with the BJP-RSS in the district with many of them resulting in bloody clashes.

The ‘cultural rally’, which featured colourful floats and pageants, was dubbed by critics as a parallel ‘Sree Krishna Jayanthi’ procession to the RSS-BJP’s annual ‘Bala Gokulam Shoba Yatra’ that was held simultaneously. The latter affair, fronted by the Bala Gokulam Children’s Organisation of the Sangh Parivar, has over the years, become a show of strength.

The CPI (M)’s rally, touted as the culmination of the Onam celebrations of various party affiliates and clubs, was meant to take the thunder out of the Sangh’s show. Given the history of violent clashes between the CPI(M) and the BJP, there was heavy deployment of police. The event, however, passed off peacefully.

The float ‘crucifying’ Narayana Guru, however, evoked strong reaction from the leadership of the influential Ezhava caste organisation, the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Sangham (SNDP) Yogam and the rage is being fuelled by the BJP.

While the float may have intended to invoke the the Guru’s famous dictum – One Caste, One Religion and One God for Mankind – to highlight the SNDP leadership growing ties with the BJP.

The BJP has been intensively wooing the SNDP to form an electoral alliance for the upcoming local-bodies elections in Kerala. While the Guru had campaigned against casteism, the SNDP leadership is aggressively promoting caste consciousness among the Ezhavas and also moving closer to the Hindutva ideology. SNDP General Secretary and businessman Vellapally Natesan has lately befriended top Sangh Parivar leaders such as VHP Working President Pravin Togadia. The Ezhavas have traditionally been a supporting bloc of the CPI (M), but in the civic-bodies election, a section of the community is widely expected to vote for the BJP.The BJP jumped into the fray, attacking the CPI (M). Natesan has termed the CPI(M) Judases. The CPI (M) leaders stated that the float should not have been used at all and that the party has always held the Guru in high esteem.

However, the ‘crucifixion’ episode has given Natesan another excuse to move closer to the BJP.

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