Political motives force NSS to step back from alliance with SNDP

The ripples triggered by the Nair Service Society’s (NSS) abrupt decision to withdraw from its proposed alliance with the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam showed no signs of subsiding even a day later.

In what appears to be a response to the sudden collapse of the proposed association between the two powerful community organisations — whose leaders had publicly criticised Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan — flex boards praising him have begun appearing across Kottayam and Alappuzha districts.

The boards, bearing the names of various Congress feeder organisations, including the Youth Congress and the Seva Dal, have emerged up along the stretch from Perunna to Kanichukulangara, the respective constituencies of the general secretaries of the NSS and the SNDP Yogam.

Despite this visible show of support, the Congress leadership has formally chosen not to comment on the developments.

The coordinated criticism of Mr. Satheesan by G. Sukumaran Nair and Vellappally Natesan, the general secretaries of the NSS and the SNDP Yogam respectively, had earlier fuelled widespread suspicion over the real intent behind the proposed alliance, which was floated just weeks ahead of the Assembly elections.

Explaining the decision to withdraw, Mr. Nair said the NSS stepped back after realising that a political agenda lay behind the move. He maintained that his call for unity between the two major Hindu community organisations was sincere, but said it later became evident that those who raised the issue of unity were driven by political considerations

The Left’s enthusiastic welcome of the idea only added momentum to the speculation. As reports on the proposed unity began to dominate the media space, the NSS general secretary was compelled to clarify that the move was aimed at organisational cohesion and was not directed against any individual. The clarification, however, failed to gain wider acceptance.

While Mr. Natesan is widely known for his openly Left-leaning political stance, his son, Thushar Vellappally, heads the Bharath Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS), a constituent of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.

With the two influential community organisations thus positioned at opposite ends of the political spectrum, many observers pointed out that the NSS would find it difficult to maintain credibility over its stated position of political equidistance if such a unity were to take shape.

“The argument that this association would ultimately benefit the BJP gradually gained traction, reinforcing the view that a tactical retreat would be more consistent with the NSS’s declared principles,” a source within the organisation said.