The failure of the Bharat Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS) to get its members elected to the Assembly seems to have sparked off a realignment of forces opposed to the Yogam leadership.
Ruing that the Ezhava community has been politically orphaned in the bipolar polity of the State, a group of former SNDP Yogam office-bearers have started informal parleys for repositioning of forces.
Prominent Ezhava community members will lead the campaign and a meeting of like-minded persons will be convened soon, said a former Yogam activist.
At the same time, the State committee of the BDJS will meet at Cherthala on Sunday to take stock of the political situation.
C.K. Vidyasagar, a former Yogam president, felt that the current leadership had lost its credibility as the BDJS failed to make an impact in the electoral scene. Two senior Yogam leaders nominated to the Devaswom boards by governments earlier had failed at the hustings. Some in the Yogam leadership and union leaders will now have to face legal action for issues related to microfinance schemes, he said.
As the Yogam leadership openly positioned against the LDF, neither the community nor the organisation can expect any patronage from the new government. It has also resulted in the shrinkage of the socio-political space of the community, said Mr. Vidyasagar, who aligned with the Left during the election.
N.D. Premachandran, a former office-bearer of the SNDP Yogam, felt the community would have to pay dearly for the political misadventure. The community could not hope to get any political patronage from the government as the Yogam leadership had lambasted the LDF and its leaders, he said.
At the same time, Thushar Vellappally, BDJS State president and son of Yogam general secretary Vellappally Natesan, said the focus would be on building up the organisation. It was following the decision of the Yogam that the political party was formed and the five-month-old party had fared well in the election. The BDJS would stay with the NDA and the organisation could take credit for improving the vote share of the NDA in the State, he said.
The community never got its due from both the political fronts, which led to the formation of the BDJS and alliance with the NDA. “Hence, the apprehensions that the community may not receive any support from the government are baseless,” he argued.
