Sabarimala at heart of Congress's return bid, but can it sustain momentum?

PATHANAMTHITTA: The Congress in Kerala has brought Sabarimala back to the centre stage as part of its comeback strategy in Pathanamthitta, as it tries to reclaim lost ground by tapping into faith-driven sentiments. However, while the party has revived street mobilisation and sharpened its attack on the ruling CPM, the bigger question is whether this sudden momentum can be sustained. The Congress' renewed push began with the Vishwasasamrakshana Yatra in the district, invoking Ayyappa devotion and accusing the CPM-led government of failing to protect temple traditions and faith. More particularly, the party used the ongoing Sabarimala gold theft controversy, in which around 2kg of gold was stolen by a former priest and his aides including Devaswom officials. But the most striking sign of the Congress' aggressive new posture was the Youth Congress march followed by Congress and UDF rallies. On October 7, a YC protest march to the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) office in Pathanamthitta turned violent, signalling a shift from symbolic protests to raw street agitation. The march, led by Congress national spokesperson Sandeep Warrier, accused the TDB of corruption in the Sabarimala temple gold-plating work. The protesters hurled coconuts at the TDB building, shattering glass panes, and clashed with the police, who resorted to lathicharge to bring the situation under control. If the YC agitation was a show of anger from those lower in party hierarchy, the public rally in Pathanamthitta on October 9 was carefully choreographed to demonstrate top-level backing. The rally, inaugurated by AICC general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal, turned into a massive mobilisation drive aimed at reclaiming Pathanamthitta ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections. Venugopal lashed out at the state government alleging the TDB is backing the gold theft in Sabarimala, accusing the government of failing to protect the sanctity of the shrine. For years, the BJP has attempted to use Sabarimala as its political gateway into central Kerala. Now, the Congress seems determined to close that door. Party leaders have carefully framed their mobilisation as devotional resistance rather than religious polarisation. We are here to fight for the faith and against those who stole the assets of Lord Ayyappa, Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan said during one of the rallies. The Congress is also revisiting the emotional terrain of the 2018 Sabarimala women entry controversy to recover its lost emotional connect with devotees and upper caste Hindu voter base that had drifted apart from the party. However, the growing momentum has been accompanied by visible factional discomfort. The district-level reorganisation and group accusations have deepened the rift between leaders aligned with Sudhakaran, Satheesan and Ramesh Chennithala. One of the captains of the protests, K Muraleedharan, skipped the key event in the district initially before joining later, betraying fault lines beneath the surface unity. If unresolved, these internal tensions risk derailing the Congress' Sabarimala narrative and handing advantage to both the CPM and the BJP. For now, the Congress has successfully reignited sentiment in Pathanamthitta, which will be crucial in the local body elections and the upcoming assembly polls. But emotion alone won't be enough. The party must now sustain mobilisation, avoid factional sabotage and convert Sabarimala politics into constituency-level organisation.