Oommen Chandy was perhaps the only candidate to have escaped the force of gravity in Kerala's assembly election history.
It was in 2021 when Chandy might have felt the gravitational force the most. It was widely thought that the Congress colossus was nearly pulled to the ground by the CPM's Jaick C Thomas. Chandy's victory margin of 27,092 in 2016 shrunk to 9044 in 2021.
Nowhere would have the force worked overtime that year than in Manarcaud panchayat.
Though Chandy's lead came down in all the eight panchayats, he dropped behind Jaick only in two -- Pampady and Manarcaud. In Pampady he was behind by less than 400 votes. But in Manarcaud, Chandy was pushed behind Jaick by over 1500 votes -- this was a panchayat Chandy usually won around 3000-4000 votes.
Voters in Manarcaud seem to know why. "It was the Church dispute," is what most of the Manarcaud voters Onmanorama met said. This was said like it was a thing of the past but the dispute is far from resolved.
It refers to the intense rivalry between Orthodox and Jacobite factions for the control of churches after the 2017 Supreme Court verdict that allowed the Orthodox faction to take control of over 1,000 disputed churches in Kerala.
Manarcaud panchayat is Jacobite territory. It is where the most important church in Puthuppally is: St Mary's Jacobite Syrian Cathedral.
Why pro-CPM in 2021
There were two reasons why the Jacobite Church gave open support to the LDF candidate in 2021.
One, the Pinarayi Vijayan government brought into force the Cemetery Act, the Kerala Right to Burial of Corpse in Christian (Malankara Orthodox-Jacobite) Cemeteries Act, 2020. The Act allowed Jacobite parishioners to bury their dead in the cemeteries of churches that had gone into the control of the Orthodox faction.
To understand how grateful the Jacobites would have felt, it is necessary to retell the story of the body of a 91-year-old Jacobite woman, Mariamma Rajan, in a village called Kattachira in Alappuzha. Her body could not be buried for over 40 days. Mariamma's church -- St Mary's Church, Kattachira -- was handed over to the Orthodox faction, which insisted that to bury her in the church cemetery an Orthodox priest should perform the funeral rites.
The Cemetery Act not just allowed Jacobites to bury their dead in the cemeteries where their ancestors rest but also gave Jacobite priests the right to conduct the last rites. However, the last rites will have to be performed elsewhere, outside the cemeteries.
Two, the Pinarayi government promised the Church Bill, Kerala Church (Properties and Institutions) Bill. The Bill, Jacobites were given to understand, would restore their possession of a church if they had a majority in a parish.
The CPM surge in Manarcaud in the 2020 local body polls was, therefore, not a surprise. In the 17-member panchayat, the CPM rules with 10. In 2015, the Congress, with 11 members, had ruled Manarcaud.
Why pro-Congress in 2023
Now, Pinarayi Vijayan himself has ruled out the Church Bill. He has gone on record saying that the Kerala Law Reforms Commission had drawn up the Bill without consulting the government.
As a consequence, there are two reasons why Jacobites in Manarcaud could possibly be indifferent to the LDF candidate.
One, they feel betrayed. "We were misled by the LDF government," said Sebastian Kanniyamkunnu, who runs a laundry near the St Mary's Cathedral.
Sebastian claimed that he had eagerly forwarded anti-Congress messages on social media in 2021. "Now we are back to default mode, back to voting for the Congress. Our WhatsApp groups are filled with anti-CPM and anti-Pinarayi messages. Moreover, Oommen Chandy's death has made us realise his importance," he said.
Advocate John Zachariah, the secretary of St George Jacobite Syrian Church, said the U-turn on the Bill would cost Jaick dear. "We realise that the CPM was being opportunistic," he said.
The second reason is Jaick's non-existent bond with the Manarcaud Church. In 2021, being from Manarcaud and a Jacobite, Jaick was favoured.
As the mood altered, a former deed of Jaick's that was largely condoned as a personal affair came to be viewed with suspicion.
At least three Jacobites Onmanorama met at Manarcaud, all who had voted for Jaick last time, spoke of Jaick's marriage in 2019 with disappointment. "He avoided the church saying he was a Marxist. The marriage was conducted not even in Manarcaud but in Kottayam. He could have held the marriage at least in the hall of the Manarcaud Church," said Binoy Pappachan, who said he was Jaick's school mate.
Defeat and bargain
There is yet another reason why even Jacobites who favour the CPM want Jaick to lose this time.
"A big victory for Chandy Oommen will improve the bargaining power of Jacobites. It will demonstrate the combined might of the community in Puthuppally. Perhaps, this will make the LDF realise that the only way to lure the Jacobites back to their fold in 2026 is to table the Church Bill," said Samuel, an advocate who lives behind the Manarcaud church.
Call for gratitude
The Jacobite church is aware of the rising anti-CPM mood among the faithful and wants it reversed.
The other day, Jacobite Syrian Church Metropolitan trustee Bishop Joseph Mor Gregorios asked the faithful not to fall for what they consume on social media. "It is wrong to blame the government for what happened to our churches. It was the result of a court verdict. Any sensible person would understand that a government would be forced to implement a court order," he said.
"This Pinarayi-led government has always maintained that what is happening is unjust. That is why this government had intervened strongly in many issues," the Bishop added.
He reminded the faithful of what Pinarayi did for the Jacobites with the Cemetery Bill. "When the Cemetery Bill was passed, we erected Pinarayi Vijayan's 'flexes' in our churches. At one stage, I even thought his flex images would find their way inside our churches," he said, half in jest.
The Bishop even seemed to suggest that the Church Bill is on its way. He said he himself had talked to the Chief Minister. "There are rumours that this government had done some great injustice to the Church," he said.
The Bishop rebuked Jacobite priests who had put out anti-CPM messages on social media. "For the priests in my community, the Church alone is their politics. We should have the commitment and sincerity to stand with those who help the Church. There should be some gratitude left in our hearts. We should not forget everything so quickly," he said.
When we played this back to some of the Jacobites we had met at Manarcaud on Friday, they said the Bishop's caution had come too late.
