Kerala Decoded | CPIM’s Outreach To Hindu Organisations: A Change In Party’s Tactical Line? | Politics News

Last Updated:October 15, 2025, 08:54 IST

Kerala: The CPI(M), which went all out during the Lok Sabha elections last year trying to woo the minorities, especially Muslims, has now made a tactical retreat

Pinarayi Vijayan at the Global Ayyappa Sangamam. (X)

With assembly polls early next year, the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI(M) seems to have made certain tactical changes in its political strategy with an eye on electoral returns.

The CPI(M), which went all out during the Lok Sabha elections last year to woo the minorities, especially Muslims who form close to 28 per cent of the state’s population, had to make a tactical retreat. The protests and rallies on CAA, UCC failed to bring in votes as they expected.

The minorities stood solidly behind the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF), which won 18 of the 20 Lok Sabha seats. But what was more worrying for the CPI(M) was not the victory in just one seat, but the inroads that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) made in its traditional strongholds in Thiruvananthapuram, Alappuzha and Thrissur. The BJP led in 11 assembly segments.

Two events, one key message

The Global Ayyappa Sangamam held last month in Pamba was one of the major initiatives in the new direction.

The CPI(M) tasted some success in its strategy with the major Hindu communities in Kerala coming out in support of the Ayyappa Sangamam. The Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam, which represents the dominant OBC Ezhava community, and the Nair Service Society (NSS) of the influential Nair community, the two major Hindu communities in Kerala, attended the event, sending out a signal regarding the CPI(M)’s pro-Hindu outreach.

SNDP general secretary Vellapally Natesan came along with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in the latter’s official car to the venue of the Sangamam and the photo-op sent a message. The NSS was at loggerheads with the CPI(M) all these years, but post-Sangamam, Sukumaran Nair, general secretary of NSS, praised the LDF government.

In 2018, following the SC order allowing women of all age groups to enter Sabarimala temple, it was the NSS which had begun the protests and also approached the SC against this.

So such a comment from Nair ahead of the elections is seen positively by the CPI(M), but both the Congress and BJP are concerned about this. The NSS has traditionally voted for the Congress in Kerala, but recently the BJP is also gaining support. Following Nair’s statement, the Congress leaders have reached out to the NSS leadership.

The CPI(M) believes that the leadership not being hostile to them itself is a big thing and they feel that restricting the BJP is important and this is the right step.

After Ayyappa Sangamam, another major event that reflected the CPI(M)’s tilt towards the Hindu community was the felicitation by the state government in honour of spiritual guru Mata Amritanandamayi. The function marked the silver jubilee observance of her address in Malayalam at the United Nations General Assembly Hall.

Cultural affairs Minister Saji Cheriyan presented a memento on behalf of the government. The CPI(M) had earlier criticised her.

Why ‘majority appeasement’ matters

The CPI(M) is wary of the huge erosion in the traditional Ezhava votes. The Ezhava community is considered to be the backbone of the Communist movement in Kerala. Any major shift in the political preference of the community could be disastrous for the CPI(M) in terms of electoral politics.

In Alappuzha constituency, the BJP had an increase of 2,11,919 votes in 2024 when compared to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. In Alappuzha, the BJP increased the vote share to 28 per cent from 17 per cent in 2019. Meanwhile, the CPI(M)’s vote share decreased from 40 per cent in 2019 to 32 per cent in 2024.

The Congress-led UDF won all other 19 seats except Alappuzha in 2019, but in 2024, the CPI(M) lost the seat to Congress’s K. C. Venugopal. More than the loss, the erosion of votes and the increase of votes for BJP has alarmed the CPI(M), because Alappuzha is one of the strongholds of the CPI(M), where many class struggles began.

In Attingal constituency also, the situation was similar. In 2014, the BJP’s vote share was 10.53 per cent, but in 2024, it was 31.64 per cent and CPI(M)’s vote share reduced from 45 per cent in 2014 to 33 per cent in 2024.

Post-2014, when the BJP tried to make inroads in Kerala’s political scene, the CPI(M) initially thought that the BJP will eat into the Congress votes and it will in turn benefit them.

But post the 2019 election, the CPI(M) realised there is erosion in their vote base, even in places which were the backbone of their organisation.

The CPI(M) also understood that in the long run, to checkmate the BJP, they have to hold on to their strong voter base in the Hindu community.

Opposition leader V. D. Satheeshan in the past few months has been saying that prior to 2024 elections, Vijayan and CPI(M) had been doing minority appeasement, but since the election debacle, they have been doing majority appeasement. Satheeshan and the Congress went on to question the global Ayyappa Sangamam and they are keeping the Sabarimala gold missing issue alive, hoping to reap political benefits like that in 2019 after the 2018 protests.

The CPI(M) also believes that apart from having good relations with the community leaders, they need to reach out to the people on the class angle, government initiatives and welfare measures.

Neethu Reghukumar

Neethu Reghukumar, Principal Correspondent at CNN-News18, has 12 years of experience in both print and broadcast journalism. She covers politics, crime, health in Kerala, and has extensively reported on floods …Read More

Neethu Reghukumar, Principal Correspondent at CNN-News18, has 12 years of experience in both print and broadcast journalism. She covers politics, crime, health in Kerala, and has extensively reported on floods … Read More

Read More