Representation of Ezhava, Nadar, and Latin communities sees notable decline in new Kerala Assembly

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The representation of backward communities in the newly elected Kerala Legislative Assembly has witnessed a significant decline. Compared to the outgoing assembly, which had 30 members from the Ezhava, Nadar, and Latin Catholic communities, their strength has dropped to 23 in the new house. The current breakup stands at Ezhava-17, Nadar-3, and Latin Catholic-3, encompassing members from all three major political fronts.

In this election, the LDF fielded 35 candidates from backward communities, including 30 from the Ezhava community. However, the LDF's total strength in the assembly plummeted from 99 in the previous term to 35 seats this time. This sharp decline in the front's overall seat count is directly reflected in the reduced representation of backward classes in the house.

On the other hand, the UDF fielded 24 candidates from backward communities, including 17 from the Ezhava community. Despite securing a landslide victory with 102 seats, the representation of these communities did not see a proportional increase. In the 2016 and 2021 assembly elections, the UDF had allotted 13 and 14 seats respectively to the Ezhava community.

In those two previous elections, Ezhava representation within the UDF was limited to just one member in the house. This was attributed to both a reduction in the number of seats allotted and the failure to provide Winnable Seats to the community.

During the election campaign, Sivagiri Mutt officials had met Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, to brief him on the systemic marginalisation faced by the community. They submitted a memorandum urging for adequate representation and the allotment of winnable seats for Ezhavas and other backward classes. Rahul Gandhi had assured them that the matter would be addressed and subsequently forwarded these recommendations to the Congress Central Election Committee.

Although there was only a marginal increase in the number of seats allocated by the Congress to backward classes, providing more winnable seats proved effective. Consequently, in this historic UDF victory, the Ezhava community’s representation within the front rose to nine.

Demand for Four Cabinet Berths

Historically, Ezhava representation in the K. Karunakaran and A.K. Antony cabinets ranged from four to six ministers. The second Pinarayi Vijayan government also included five ministers from the community. Given the current political landscape, demands are now being raised for the new UDF cabinet to grant at least four ministerial positions to the Ezhava community, alongside fair representation for the Nadar and Latin Catholic communities.

Community-wise Breakdown in the New Assembly:

UDF (Total Seats: 102)

• Ezhava: 9
• Nadar: 2
• Latin Catholic: 3

LDF (Total Seats: 35)

• Ezhava: 6
• Nadar: 1

NDA (Total Seats: 3)

• Ezhava: 2