Pala: Is Sabarimala still an election issue in Kerala? The Pala assembly by-poll on September 23 could well be a bellwether on this contentious issue.
The CPM would like to believe the row over the Supreme Court order allowing women of all age groups to enter the hill shrine has faded into oblivion.
The government's tough resolve to implement the apex court order was cited as a key reason for the Left Front's debacle in the Lok Sabha polls. The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) asserts that Sabarimala is still an issue and it will have an impact on the bypoll result.
The Congress has all reasons to believe so because its stand – opposing the verdict in a peaceful and tactical manner – had reaped rich dividends in the Lok Sabha polls. The Congress, which is spearheading the campaigning in Pala amid the simmering factional feud within the Kerala Congress (M), is in a way employing the same strategy in the Pala bypolls also. The party keeps projecting the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left government as anti-faith. “Sabarimala is an issue in Pala bypolls. People view the adamant stance to implement the SC verdict as an attack against people's beliefs. Not only Hindus, but people from other faiths have also felt hurt with the government's stance,” Congress leader K Sivadasan Nair told Onmanorama amid electioneering in Pala.
Ironically, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, which had aggressively used the Sabarimala issue as an election plank during the LS polls, seems to be in no mood to play it up this time.
"Sabarimala won't be a major issue in Pala. The Congress' claim that it would benefit from the Sabarimala issue is hollow. People know that only the BJP tried to protect their faith," NDA partner P C George said.
NDA's toned down stance apparently stems from the realisation that even if they make it an issue it may only benefit the UDF, just like in the LS polls.
But a political observer said the Sabarimala row is likely to have an impact in the poll. "Pala has a sizeable Nair population. They are still angry at Pinarayi for his aggressive stance on Sabarimala. They are likely to vote for UDF, " he said.
Till the counting is over, only the voters would know if Sabarimala would be a pivot that would steer Pala bypoll result.
