Headlines
Amit Shah meets Kerala's Ezhava community leader
Kollam (Kerala), Sep 27
Bharatiya Janata Party
president Amit Shah on Sunday met Kerala's Hindu Ezhava community
leader Vellapally Natesan, who has expressed his desire to form a
political party.
Natesan, the supreme leader of the powerful
Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Sangom - the social organisation
of Ezhavas - and Shah met on the sidelines of an event here to celebrate
62nd birthday of Mata Amritanandamayi.
This was for the second time in as many months that Natesan and Shah have met.
BJP
Kerala unit president V. Muraleedharan and Natesan's son, Tushar
Vellapally, also took part in the meeting that assumes significance as
Ezhava community leader wishes to form a political party.
But, Natesan said: "We did not discuss politics at today's (Sunday) meeting."
"Why
people are so restless on my meeting? Don't I have the freedom to meet
people? Moreover, he (Shah) is the national president of the party that
rules the country. I will also meet the prime minister...," Natesan told
the media.
The SNDP owes its allegiance to social reformer Sree Narayana Guru.
In
Kerala, Hindus constitute over 50 percent of the 3.30 crore population
and in numbers the Ezhava community is slightly ahead of the Hindu Nair
community.
Over the years the SNDP, even though it claims to
maintain a policy of equidistance with the rival political fronts - the
Left Front and the Congress-led United Democratic Front - in the state's
political spectrum, it was known that a majority of the Ezhavas often
backed the CPI-M-led alliance.
Ever since Narendra Modi became
the prime minister, the BJP was doing its best to woo the SNDP and for
that Natesan was offered a deal to name a central university in the
state after the revered guru.
For the BJP, which is yet to open
an account in the 140-member Kerala assembly, getting Natesan into the
NDA fold is expected to yield dividends, and with local body polls to be
held in November and the assembly polls next year, the BJP is doing
every bit of politicking.