In just one day, Kerala’s voters will march to the ballot box. But before the ink dries on a single ballot paper, the Pinarayi Vijayan government has made a significant move — submitting an affidavit in the Supreme Court ahead of the final hearing on petitions relating to women’s entry into the Sabarimala Temple.
Yet the moment Kerala hears the names Pinarayi Vijayan, CPM, and Sabarimala women’s entry in the same breath, one image instantly flashes before every Keralite’s eyes — Bindu Ammini and Kanaka Durga, escorted by a heavy police contingent, being walked into the sacred shrine under the full protection of the Left government’s machinery. The same two women who have publicly and openly stated that they are neither Ayyappa devotees nor followers of the Hindu faith.
This is the image that burns. A Marxist government deploying state police not to protect pilgrims — but to escort self-declared non-believers into one of Hinduism’s most revered shrines. A temple that, according to centuries-old rituals, customs, and tradition, does not permit the entry of women between the ages of 10 and 50 — out of reverence for Lord Ayyappa, the eternal ‘Naishtika Brahmachari’, whose very identity is rooted in celibacy and divine purity.
This move by the Kerala government came after it had earlier submitted an affidavit supporting the entry of women into Sabarimala, a position that significantly shaped the verdict. However, the entry of women and the government’s stance triggered widespread outrage across the state. This was followed by a major electoral setback in the Lok Sabha elections, where the party managed to secure just one seat out of 20.
The episode appeared to serve as a political lesson—that intervening in temple traditions and rituals carries serious consequences. In the aftermath, the party gradually began to shift its position. Now, before the Supreme Court, it has effectively reversed its earlier stand, indicating that it is stepping back from its previous support for women’s entry.
Kerala government’s U-Turn affidavit before Supreme Court on Women Entry
The Kerala government’s affidavit before the Supreme Court carries three powerful arguments that resonate deeply with millions of Ayyappa devotees:
- Wide Consultation Before Any Judicial Review – Any judicial review of a religious practice — one that has been faithfully observed for centuries and deeply embedded in the beliefs and values of its followers — must only come after wide and meaningful consultation with those who live and breathe that faith. A practice that millions hold sacred cannot be dismantled without first listening to the very people it belongs to.
- Outsiders Have No Business Challenging Sacred Traditions- Those with no stake in the tradition and no connection to the community should not ordinarily be permitted to challenge religious practices. Unless a grave and undeniable violation of human rights is clearly at play, the faith of a community must be left in the hands of that community — not in the hands of activists or outsiders with an agenda.
- The Community Decides What Is Integral to Their Faith – The true test of whether a practice is integral to a religion must not be decided by courts or outsiders alone. It must be measured by whether the community that follows that religion regards it as sacred, essential, and inseparable from their faith. For millions of devoted Ayyappa followers, the answer has always been a resounding yes.
The Setup: A Government That Chose Its Battles Selectively
When the Supreme Court of India delivered its landmark verdict on September 28, 2018, the five-judge Constitution Bench in a 4:1 ruling declared that banning women of menstruating age from entering Sabarimala was gender discrimination and a violation of the constitutional rights of Hindu women. But what followed was a government changing its stand for votes — it was a masterclass in political opportunism by the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in Kerala. The CPM, saw in this Supreme Court verdict not a moral imperative, but a political weapon.
The Manipulation of the Affidavit
To grasp the scale of this dramatic shift in stance, one must trace the paper trail of government affidavits—one that reads like a political thriller.
In 2007, the Kerala government stated in its first affidavit that it was “not in favour of discrimination towards any woman or any section of society.” Then in February 2016, during Congress’ Oommen Chandy’s tenure, the affidavit was revised to oppose the entry of menstruating women into Sabarimala. This was what the Ayappa devotees and the Hindus wanted. However, on November 13, 2016, after the first Pinarayi Ministry came to power, the original 2007 affidavit was quietly restored — effectively signalling that no laws stood against women’s entry.
This was not governance. This was a calculated political manoeuvre. The LDF used the affidavit to position itself ideologically against the Congress and BJP — even if it meant inflaming one of Kerala’s most sensitive religious fault lines.
The Police Escort Drama: Manufactured Martyrdom
When two women — Bindu Ammini and Kanaka Durga — finally entered the Sabarimala temple, it was not a spontaneous act of courage. They entered the temple not through the 18 sacred steps, but through the staff gate, with a police escort, at approximately 3:45 AM on January 2, 2019, when few devotees or protesters were present. They had been blocked by protesters on a previous attempt in December 2018 and had reportedly stayed at a secret location, vowing not to return home until they offered prayers.
RSP leader and Kollam MP N.K. Premachandran alleged that the LDF government and state police actively facilitated the women’s visit — and controversially claimed, citing police sources, that the women were provided non-veg food before their temple visit. The Pinarayi government choreographed what it then sold to the world as a triumph of constitutional values.
The CPI(M)-led LDF government subsequently faced severe criticism from Ayyappa devotees and the Sangh Parivar for facilitating the entry. The temple was closed for purification rituals. Protests erupted across Kerala. The state descended into communal tension — and all of this was entirely predictable.
The Electoral Punishment: 2019’s Brutal Verdict
The people of Kerala did not forget. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the LDF was badly defeated — out of 20 seats, they lost 19. ANI News It was one of the most devastating electoral routs in the party’s history. The Sabarimala misadventure had united Hindu voters across caste and class lines against the LDF in a way the BJP alone could never have managed.
The irony is crushing: a Marxist government, in its zeal to perform progressive credentials, ended up gifting the RSS and BJP the most potent communal mobilisation tool Kerala had ever seen.
U-Turns for Reclaiming Hindu Votes
In March 2026, ahead of the Kerala Assembly elections, the LDF government reversed its 2018 stance in a special cabinet meeting and decided to support the traditional restriction on women under 50 entering Sabarimala — submitting this new position to the Supreme Court through an affidavit.
In a highly tactical move, the Kerala government requested to be listed alongside those seeking to uphold Sabarimala traditions in Supreme Court proceedings — a side it had previously opposed just to win the assembly elections that will take place on April 9, 2026.
The Congress played both sides for decades — opposing women’s entry when it suited their vote bank, then attacking the LDF for reversing course when it suited their campaign rhetoric.
Sabarimala: A Mirror to the Left’s Political Flip-Flops
The Sabarimala episode is a mirror held up to Kerala’s Left. It reflects a party that used the language of gender equality to score ideological points, provoked a massive backlash it was wholly unprepared to manage, watched millions of faithful voters walk away in disgust, and then abandoned its stated principles the moment the ballot box demanded it.
Observers believe the government’s revised stance is influenced by political considerations as the state prepares for Assembly elections. The Week That may be the most understated line written about this saga. What happened at Sabarimala was not a failure of implementation. It was a calculated, cynical political operation — from the first affidavit to the midnight entry to the pre-election U-turn.
