Whether by coincidence or calculation, the episode showcased Kerala’s shifting political grammar
By Arun M Nair
In Kerala’s high-voltage political theatre, even a hug can trigger tremors. And when Fisheries and Culture Minister Saji Cherian leaned in to kiss spiritual leader Mata Amritanandamayi on her 72nd birthday, the ripples quickly turned into a political storm.
For the Communist Party, steeped in a tradition of rationalism and distance from organized faith, Cherian’s act was out of character. Political observers were quick to note that what might have been dismissed as a warm, personal gesture if done by a Congress or BJP leader became headline material because it came from a Left minister.
The visuals of Saji Cherian embracing the “hugging saint” and planting a respectful kiss went viral, sparking whispers that this was no accident but a carefully scripted move by the Pinarayi Vijayan government. With local body polls around the corner and Assembly elections looming next year, the message seemed clear: the Left is ready to soften its hard edges, even in the spiritual domain, to retain Kerala — its last surviving bastion after the fall of West Bengal and Tripura.
Cherian, however, brushed off the criticism with characteristic bluntness. “What is wrong in kissing Amma? She has done countless good deeds and is recognised worldwide. Meeting her felt like being hugged by my own mother,” he said. He also pointed out that before attending the event at Amma’s Kollam mutt, he had read her United Nations speech in Malayalam, underscoring her global stature.
The BJP, more than the Congress, appeared rattled. For decades, the saffron party considered Amma’s vast spiritual following closer to its orbit than the Left’s.
Whether by coincidence or calculation, the episode showcased Kerala’s shifting political grammar, ideology tempered with pragmatism, gestures loaded with electoral weight, and a hug and a kiss that became more than that.
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