Prominent upper-caste outfit Nair Service Society (NSS) has put its weight behind the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) government on the Sabarimala issue, sparking speculation that it is inching towards the Left ahead of the Assembly elections next year. For the Congress, which is trying to stop the Left from returning to power for a third straight term, this will be a cause for concern.

On September 20, the government conducted a Global Ayyappa Sangamam to discuss the development of the hill shrine. The NSS, along with Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana SNDP Yogam, another prominent Hindu outfit, attended the conclave, while the Congress and the BJP stayed away. The Opposition parties wanted the government to withdraw the cases registered against devotees who, in 2018, protested aga

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