Culture, Governance, and the Divergent Political Trajectories of the Left and the RSS in Kerala: An Analysis in the Backdrop of Recent Local Self Government Election
##semicolon##
https://doi.org/10.66871/trf-j.v1i2.027##semicolon##
Kerala Politics, Indian Left, RSS, Political culture, Cultural Embeddedness, Local Self Government Electionसार
Exactly a century back, in the year 1925, two ideologically divergent political projects were born in India: the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Communist Party of India (CPI). They both aimed for social change, but they had quite different perspectives on how culture, society, and political power interacted in Indian society. The society of Kerala accommodates these two ideologies in different parameters. This paper tries to argue that these two ideologies' foundational assumptions have led to a century-long imbalance in political outcomes, which is currently becoming more apparent in Kerala's local self-government elections. Based on historical analysis and political theory, the study argues that Indian communism's focus on material transformation and welfare governance, combined with its relative disregard of cultural embeddedness, has resulted in structural exhaustion. In contrast, the RSS's long-term investment in cultural organization and social presence has allowed for political expansion in the face of institutional and administrative exhaustion. This study places Kerala's recent electoral changes in this broader historical and cultural context.
##submission.citations##
Basheer, M. P. 2025. “Kerala Local Body Election Results Ring Alarm Bells in the Left’s Last Bastion.” The Wire, December 14.
Bhat, A. W., and S. Majid. 2025. “Beyond ‘Another Possible World’: A Critical Reassessment of the Kerala Model’s Enduring Contradictions.” Critique 53 (2–3): 267–88. https://doi.org/10.1080/03017605.2025.2550861. Accessed February 26, 2026.
Chathukulam, Jos, and Manasi Joseph. 2026. “Local Government Election Results in Kerala: Towards a Tripolar Polity.” Economic and Political Weekly 61 (9). https://www.epw.in/journal/2026/9/commentary/local-government-election-results-kerala.html. Accessed March 1, 2026.
Dhanya, K. R. 2018. “Who Has Organised the Sabarimala Protest against Women Entry? A Detailed Account.” Azhimukham, October 22. https://www.azhimukham.com/kerala-whohas-organised-sabarimala-protest-againstwomen-entry-a-detailed-account-by-kr-dhanya/. Accessed March 1, 2026.
Harikrishna, Deva Nandan. 2026. “Kerala: Cultural Entrenchment of Hindutva.” Forum for Development Studies 53 (1): 97–107. https://doi.org/10.1080/08039410.2025.2548530. Accessed February 11, 2026.
Heller, Patrick. 1999. The Labor of Development: Workers and the Transformation of Capitalism in Kerala, India. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
Heller, Patrick, and T. M. Thomas Isaac. 2005. “The Politics and Institutional Design of Participatory Democracy: Lessons from Kerala, India.” In Democratizing Democracy: Beyond the Liberal Democratic Canon, edited by Boaventura de Sousa Santos, 405–443. London: Verso.
Isaac, T. M. Thomas, and Richard W. Franke. 2000. Local Democracy and Development: People’s Campaign for Decentralised Planning in Kerala. New Delhi: LeftWord Books.
Jaffrelot, Christophe. 2008. “Hindu Nationalism and the Social Welfare Strategy.” In Development, Civil Society and Faith-Based Organizations, edited by Gerard Clarke, Michael Jennings, and Timothy Shaw, 240–259. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Jayaprasad, K. 1989. Impact of Hindu Nationalism on Kerala Society and Politics: A Study on RSS. PhD diss., University of Kerala.
Jayaprasad, K. 1991. RSS and Hindu Nationalism: Inroads in a Leftist Stronghold. New Delhi: Deep & Deep Publications.
K. M. Seethi. 2017. “A Multitude of ‘Risks’: RSS–CPI(M) Violence in Kerala.” Economic and Political Weekly 52 (29), July 22.
Mannathukkaren, Nissim. 2017. “Communalism sans Violence: A Keralan Exceptionalism?” Sikh Formations: Religion, Culture, Theory 12 (2–3): 223–242.
Mathew, George. 2001. “Panchayat Elections: Dismal Record.” Economic and Political Weekly 36 (3): 183–84.
Mattumannil, S. H. 2024. “The Left Approach to Social Diversity: How the Communist Party Interacted with Kerala’s Social Landscape?” Cogent Social Sciences 10 (1). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2023.2292840. Accessed March 1, 2026.
Paleri, Dayal, and R. Santhosh. 2023. “‘Elections Can Wait!’ The Politics of Constructing a ‘Hinduatmosphere’ in Kerala, South India.” Modern Asian Studies 57 (6): 2067–2099.
Prabhash, J., and K. M. S. Ibrahim. 2017. “Changing Voting Behaviour in Kerala Elections.” Economic and Political Weekly 52 (5): 64–68. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44166151. Accessed March 1, 2026.
Reghu, J. 2025. “Warning Signs for the Left: Understanding CPM’s Local Body Setback.” Mathrubhumi English.
Roopesh, O. B. 2018. “Sabarimala Protest: Politics of Standardising Religious Pluralism.” Economic and Political Weekly 53 (49): 12–16.
Sunilraj, B., and Oliver Heath. 2017. “The Historical Legacy of Party System Stability in Kerala.” Studies in Indian Politics 5 (2): 193–204. ttps://doi.org/10.1177/2321023017727959. Accessed March 1, 2026.
Thomas, V., A. G. K., J. Saravanan, and A. V. Sathyan. 2026. “Indian General Elections 2024: Film Star Delivers BJP’s First Win in Kerala.” Contemporary South Asia 34 (1): 189–196. https://doi.org/10.1080/09584935.2025.2575163. Accessed March 1, 2026.
“The News Minute.” 2025. “Explained: The Controversy over Missing Gold at Sabarimala Temple.” https://www.thenewsminute.com/kerala/explained-the-controversy-over-missing-gold-at-sabarimala-temple. Accessed March 1, 2026.
The New Indian Express. 2023. “Insulting Lord Ganesh? Kerala Speaker Sticks to His Stand on Promoting Science.” August 3. https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/2023/Aug/03/insulting-lord-ganesh-kerala-speaker-sticks-to-his-stand-on-promoting-science-2601560.html. Accessed March 1, 2026.
Indian Young Lawyers Association v. State of Kerala. 2017. Supreme Court of India. October 13. https://indiankanoon.org/doc/22558009/. Accessed March 1, 2026.
