The anti-CAA protests were a secular phenomenon in Kerala

Kerala politics took a curious turn after the BJP polarised the national scene in the '90s into Hindutva and anti-Hindutva. The two main political fronts, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the United Democratic Front (UDF), have both aligned themselves on the secular side of the polity at the national level and fought it out on regional issues back home. The agitation against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) is no different. Both the fronts championed the cause as the central legislation was seen as undermining the secular nature of the Constitution; even the community organisations which took to the streets ensured that the show of strength had no communal colour.

The LDF took an early stand on CAA as it saw the legislation being part of the RSS agenda to turn the country into a Hindu Rashtra. The Communist Party of India (Marxist), which leads the LDF, organised a series of meetings across the state which were addressed by senior leaders. The party was careful to project the image of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan as a dependable general who can lead a charge on the communal forces. It also launched a campaign to hardsell the state government's decision not to implement the central projects on National Population Register (NPR) and the National Citizens' Register (NRC). The LDF also ensured that the state assembly become the first in the country to pass a resolution opposing the CAA and seeking its withdrawal. The LDF sought to give the agitation a bipartisan tint by calling for a joint fight. That the leader of the Opposition and senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala sat with the Chief Minister and other leaders was a spectacle that the LDF wanted to present to the state and the country.

The UDF should have been leading the anti-CAA agitations in the state as every constituent of the front had a direct stake in it. The Congress depends on the support of the secularists from the majority community as well as the minorities; UDF constituents Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and the various factions of the Kerala Congress draw their strength from the Muslim and Christian populations. The Congress entered the fray only after the LDF did; it trailed even Muslim orgainsations which have strong links to the Muslim League as the front was undecided in the beginning whether to be part of the joint campaign with the LDF or not. Mr Chennithala's appearance along with the LDF leaders was resented by the other leaders, betraying the confusion. Though a latecomer, the UDF did its part and took to the streets.

The civil society organisations with no affiliation to the mainstream political fronts were the first to launch antiCAA agitations in the state. They, in fact, set the tone for the movement by placing the Hindutva forces at the other end of the spectrum and called upon all the others to join forces. That narrative was followed by and large as those who opposed to the CAA realised that an attempt to give the movement a communal tint would be counterproductive. Even the anti-CAA agitations taken out by Muslim organisations were careful to ensure that they took no communal colour. The slogans were focused mainly on the protection of the Constitution; knowing full well that the majority community in the state was aligned mostly along the secular front. The attempts by the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), a frontal organisation of the Popular Front of India, to reignite the embers of the 1921 Malabar rebellion and give it a crass communal colour were thwarted by the mainstream Mulsim organisations themselves. One of the largest such congregations was held in Kochi on the new year day with the participation of about 5 lakh people. The organizers insisted on the display of only the national flag and the preamble of the constitution throughout the rally.

P. Rajeev, the chief editor of CPM mouthpiece Deshabhimani and member of the CPM state secretariat said in his party's assessment, the anti-CAA protests brought to fore the strong secular face of Kerala society. “It has also been successful in denying the extremist forces a role in the protests, which they could use to polarise society,” he told Deccan Chronicle. “As for the CPM and the LDF, we went ahead with the protests as we felt the fundamentals of our nation are being questioned. Electoral dividends are not on the radar for now.”

The minorities make up 45 per cent of the Kerala population: about 26 per cent Muslims and 17 per cent Christians. Traditionally, a majority among the two communities have placed their electoral fortunes with the UDF, for historical as well as contemporary reasons. The IUML and the Kerala Congress ensured that the communities are represented in the power structure, too. The CPM's efforts to win over the minorities have by and large remained fruitless; its failed attempt to lay a bridge to the Muslim community through Abdul Nassar Madani continue to be seen as a big political mistake. However, the minorities had an occasional affair with the communists as was evident in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections and the 2016 Assembly elections when they helped the LDF sweep the elections.

While the Muslim community in the state is united in its opposition to the CAA, the Christians are a divided house. A communiqué issued by the synod of the Syro-Malabar church, the most influential among the Christian denominations in terms of the membership and institutional and financial muscle, attacking love jihad when the anti-CAA protests were reaching their crescendo was roundly criticised by most people as an effort to distract attention of the community against the central law. There were senior priests all over the state offering support to the law, albeit in a veiled manner.

The CAA protests are unlikely to be a clincher in the elections to the state assembly, scheduled in the first half of next year. The communal faultlines have already been drawn: a section of the Muslims wants to trust the Left for its unwavering secular credentials and is likely to return the favour; the Christian votes are unlikely to be impacted by the CAA. The secular electorate is likely to cast their votes after judging the performance of the Pinarayi Vijayan government.

Last year's Lok Sabha elections were an eye opener for the Left. It was a unique combination when most of the voters with no firm political affiliation turned against the LDF for their own reasons, resulting in it being wiped out. A section of the Muslims, which would have otherwise preferred the LDF, went with the UDF as it felt the Congress was in a position to defeat the BJP nationally and that then Congress president Rahul Gandhi will become the prime minister. A section of the Ayyappa devotees decided that the LDF government's attitude towards the Supreme Court judgment opening the Sabarimala hill shrine to women of all ages should be punished. That the LDF made a dramatic comeback in the byelections to the assembly, wresting the Pala, Konni and Vattiyoorkkav seats from the UDF, signalled that the comrades were able to win back the support of the majority community. It is evenly placed now. It's said a week is a long time in politics. A year is pretty much longer, indeed.