The large-scale exodus of its cadres to the BJP seems to have so unnerved the CPI(M) as to make the panicky party to resort to ill-thought out strategies to regain lost ground. The upshot of it: the CPI(M) finds itself having to defend the indefensible in the process.

What triggered the trouble for the CPI(M) was its decision to take out a controversial float depicting Sree Narayana Guru, founder of the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam(SNDP), on a cross during a procession by the pro-CPI(M) Balasanghasm on September 5 to mark the Onam celebrations. Incidentally, the procession coincided with the Sree Krishna Jayanti celebrations organized by the BJP RSS.

The CPI(M) found itself in the eye of a storm as the sensibilities of SNDP cadres and leaders were hurt by what they called a deliberate attempt to denigrate the Guru. Concerned over the backlash created by the float, both CPI(M) state secretary, Kodiyeri balakrishnan and leader of the Opposition, V. S. Achuthanandan regretted the event , saying that the organizers in Koovode in Kannur should have been more careful while taking out floats depicting leaders and social reformers of the state.

A war of words ensued between the SNDP, the representative organization of Ezhavas who constitute the backbone of the CPI(M), and the CPI(M) with the former demanding an outright apology from the latter. The CPI(M) retorted that the float was only an attempt to expose the SNDP and BJP leaders trying to distort the teachings of the Guru, and the party was not against the SNDP as such.

Be that as it may, it must be said, in fairness to the CPI(M) that there was nothing wrong with the idea which animated the display of the float. Where it erred was in the manner it went about implementing the idea. To the credit of Kodiyeri and VS, they tried to undo the damage created by the ill-thought out move.

But the BJP and the RSS are in no mood to let the CPI(M) off the hook easily. The RSS and the BJP have a vested interest in keeping the fires of the controversy burning; it has found a powerful weapon to twist the knife in the CPI(M)’s wound. The saffron camp believes that the Himalayan blunder of the CPI(M) will catalyse the exodus of CPI(M) cadres to the BJP camp and facilitate closer SNDP-BJP ties. A consummation the BJP devoutly wishes for in furtherance of its long-term objective of Hindu unity.

The saving grace for the CPI(M) has been that VS has chosen to back the party, at least publicly. though he is said to be unhappy about the way the state CPI(M) leadership handled the issue. Significantly, the party units in the southern and central Kerala are said to be in a state of dismay over the party’s clumsy attempts to arrest the erosion of its ranks. These units seem to believe that the attempt to beat the BJP-RSS in their own game has backfired badly. The result has been further isolation of the ‘Kannur lobby’.

In hindsight, it must be said that the CPI(M ) could have avoided the damage caused by the ill-advised move with greater care. That it failed to do that exemplifies the party’s desperate attempts to counter the BJP-RSS by playing the ‘soft Hindutva’ card a la the Congress in Gujarat years ago.

The root cause of the unfortunate episode with disastrous results for the CPI(M) has been the attempt of the SNDP to cosy up to the BJP politically. It is also true that the CPI(M)’s argument that the SNDP and the BJP are ideologically incompatible is flawless. After all, Sree Narayana Guru’s philosophy of ‘one caste, one religion and one god’ is sharply at odds with the RSS mantra of upper caste domination and majoritarianism. The CPI(M) should have kept the focus on combating the BJP by countering the BJP-RSS’s divisive propaganda instead of frittering energies on taking out controversial floats which were bound to be misinterpreted and misused by the saffron camp – which it did with obvious relish. After all, the BJP has its own agenda: to deepen the divide between the SNDP and the CPI(M) so that the SNDP-BJP ties are further strengthened.

Wisdom seems to have dawned on both the SNDP and the CPI(M) with leaders of both camps calling for a halt to the internecine sniping. But the SNDP-CPI(M) tensions have only further vitiated the political atmosphere and left a trail of bitterness which will take a long time to evaporate. An unfortunate upshot of the whole controversy has been that the state’s fabric of communal amity stands severely strained. And that bodies ill for the state known for its communal amity and secular politics.(IPA Service)