It is nothing but a savage irony that it is the SNDP, which had made the strongest pitch for and put a premium on the unity of all Hindu organizations in the State that has robbed the BJP of the ecstasy generated by the Kozhikode session’s success. An immediate upshot of the development has been the severe setback the BJP’s much-trumpeted plan to fortify and expand the third front in the state.

But there is a cold comfort for the BJP. The party floated by the SNDP, the Bharat Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS) has stood by it in its hour of consternation.

SNDP general secretary Vellappally Natesan had stunned the BJP, on the eve of the Kozhikode session, by accusing it of dismally failing to meet the commitments made to the BDJS while forging an alliance with the latter while it joined the National Democratic Alliance led by the BJP in Kerala.

BDJS chief Tushar Vellappally, Vellappally’s son, however, played down the tough stance taken by the senior Vellappally. That was only his personal opinion and not that of the BDJS, the junior Vellappally asserted, baring the rift between the father and the son over the sensitive issue.

The main point of senior Vellappally’s charge was that the BJP had refused to honour the promises it had made to the BDJS. And that the BDJS and the SNDP were the losers in the bargain.

That the criticism voiced by the SNDP strongman has had an immediate effect is clear from the promptness with which BJP president Amit Shah named BDJS boss Tushar Vellappally as the state convener of the NDA. BJP’s state president Kummanam Rajashekharan is the chairman of the Kerala unit of the NDA.

However, if the BJP thinks that the move to placate the BDJS would undo the damage caused by the SNDP boss’s outburst, the party is mistaken. True, the BDJS president is on record that though the party has been floated by the SNDP, its membership is not confined to the former. People belonging to many other organizations, including the Nair Service Society (NSS), were members of the BDJS, he clarified. Whatever construction he may put on, the fact is that SNDP remains the backbone of the BDJS. And it would be difficult for the BDJS to go against the wishes of the SNDP.

What has rattled the BJP the most is the senior Vellappally’s fulsome praise for Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of late. To the utter chagrin of the BJP, the SNDP strongman had a meeting with Pinarayi even as he failed to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi or BJP president Amit Shah during their stay in Kerala. Natesan’s rebuff is being construed as a pressure tactic to force the BJP leadership to concede his demands.

Another interpretation is that the father-son duo is playing a carrot and stick game with the BJP. While the father brandishes the stick, the son dangles the carrot by offering to continue the tie-up with the BJP.

That said, it is clear that the SNDP boss’s compulsions are entirely different from those of the BDJS led by his son. The father’s top priority is to wriggle out of the cases he is enmeshed in over the alleged irregularities made by the SNDP in the micro credit financing scheme initiated by the SNDP. That explains his Pinarayi-placating praise and efforts to be cosy with him of late.

But Vellappally’s endeavour is unlikely to succeed for two reasons. One, CPI(M) veteran V S Achuthanandan has made it clear that he would oppose tooth and nail, any move to let Vellappally off the hook. In fact, VS has hardened his stance by deciding to implead himself in the petition filed by the SNDP general secretary seeking to quash the FIR listing him as the first accused in the micro finance scam.

In a recent statement, VS had said that the case involved cheating of many poor women of the Ezhava community. The scam itself was the result of the conspiracy hatched by the erstwhile UDF Government and Natesan. If proof were needed of the conspiracy it is available from the reappointment of the managing director of Kerala State Backward Class Development Corporation (KSBCDC) by the Oommen Chandy Government. It may be mentioned that the funds for the micro-financing scheme were sourced from the KSBCDC, VS pointed out. VS also had a dig at Natesan’s meeting with the Chief Minister, by remarking that such ‘tricks’ would not succeed.

Another reason why Vellappally Natesan is worried is the statement filed in the Kerala High Court by the Vigilance Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) to the effect that there is material evidence to establish the corruption and misappropriation charges against Vellappally Natesan.

The cumulative effect of all this has been the severe setback suffered by the BJP’s efforts to fortify and expand the NDA in the State. In other words, the dream project of the Kerala BJP- to head a third front in the state - will remain, at least for the time being, a mere gleam in the eyes of party leaders and cadres. (IPA Service)