Thiruvananthapuram: Whereas the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has been organising programmes nationwide to have fun its centenary, one occasion in Kerala this week garnered particular consideration—not for its grandeur, however because of the presence of former director normal of police, Jacob Thomas. On Wednesday, Thomas attended a celebratory occasion close to Kochi, donning the standard Sangh uniform, and mentioned in his speech that the organisation doesn’t discriminate on the premise of caste or faith, and works in direction of nation-building.

Retired in 2020 after an acrimonious relationship with the state’s Left authorities, Thomas had joined the Bharatiya Janata Occasion in 2021, and had even unsuccessfully contested the meeting elections that yr from a constituency in Thrissur. Having maintained a low profile thus far, he has now introduced plans to grow to be a full-time Sangh pracharak.

This additionally assumes significance because the BJP tries to broaden its base within the poll-bound state, the place its impression has thus far been restricted to the lone victories of Suresh Gopi within the 2024 Lok Sabha election in Thrissur, and O. Rajagopal within the 2016 meeting ballot in Nemom constituency, apart from few native elections.

Joseph C. Mathew, a political analyst primarily based in Kerala, instructed ThePrint that whereas involvement of retired civil servants might in a roundabout way enhance the BJP’s place within the state, it may possibly alter the perceptions surrounding the occasion.

“The individuals are being pushed to the opposite facet, not simply by the Left, however by the Congress too. They’re leaving as a result of they need patronage. I don’t assume they’re innate supporters of the BJP,” he mentioned, including that the BJP appears to be trying solely at numbers, which is not going to assist it on the bottom. “However numbers alone don’t matter. They should mirror on the bottom, too. Aside from Suresh Gopi, I don’t assume they’ve had a prized catch but in Kerala.”

A retired civil servant instructed ThePrint that it isn’t incorrect for officers to hitch politics after retirement. “It’s a private selection. For these three people, perhaps it was solely the BJP that approached them. It’s troublesome to enter the Congress and safe a place, since many leaders are already vying for posts. The Left, just like the BJP, often accommodates Independents. However all three have had points with the Left,” the previous officer mentioned, including that the character of a civil servant’s work could be very totally different from that of politicians, and will not have a lot impression on the general public.

Thomas himself instructed ThePrint that his affiliation with the RSS had begun lengthy earlier than his retirement. “My affiliation with the Sangh is a number of years previous. The primary time I got here throughout the organisation and was interested in it was in 1997, once I was nonetheless in service. So, I wasn’t visibly concerned within the actions. However for the final seven to eight years, I’ve been extra lively.”

Thomas added that the RSS attracted him due to its self-discipline, values and selfless nature of labor. He determined to be extra actively concerned after the organisation approached him to participate in its centenary programmes.

Friction with the Left

Usually thought-about an easy officer, Thomas’s first conflict with the Kerala authorities had are available 2015 underneath the Oommen Chandy-led United Democratic Entrance regime, when he was eliminated as director of the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB). This had adopted his probe in a bar bribery case, allegedly involving former finance minister and Kerala Congress (M) chief Okay.M. Mani, a long-time ally of the UDF.

When the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left Democratic Entrance got here to energy in 2016, Thomas was reinstated as vigilance director, and he had even praised the federal government’s anti-corruption stance. However by late 2017, the officer had grow to be a vocal critic of the federal government after releasing his autobiography Sravukalkkoppam Neenthumbol (Swimming with Sharks), which contained sharp criticism of its governance, and assaults on leaders of each the Left and Congress, together with former chief minister Oommen Chandy. His continued criticism of the state authorities’s insurance policies had led to his suspension.

Quickly after retirement in 2020, Thomas joined the BJP in 2021 within the presence of occasion president J.P. Nadda. Within the meeting polls that yr, he completed third in Thrissur’s Irinjalakuda. Nevertheless, with 22.12 % votes, he elevated the occasion’s vote share within the constituency by almost two share factors in comparison with 2016. The profitable CPI(M) candidate had secured 40.27 %.

Like Thomas, T.P. Senkumar too had a strained relationship with the LDF, a tussle that had even reached the Supreme Courtroom. The officer, who had probed a number of high-profile circumstances, together with the 2012 homicide of Revolutionary Marxist Occasion (RMP) chief T.P. Chandrasekharan that concerned CPI(M) employees, was eliminated as DGP, simply days after the LDF had come to energy in 2016. He had then approached the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), which had dominated within the authorities’s favour, however the Supreme Courtroom had later ordered his reinstatement.

Equally, R. Sreelekha, Kerala’s first lady IPS officer, had additionally alleged that she was sidelined and her profession undermined, each earlier than and after retirement. A 1987-batch officer, she joined the BJP in October 2024 within the presence of state occasion president Okay. Surendran. In July this yr, she was appointed a vice-president of the occasion. She additionally runs her personal YouTube channel, Sasneham Sreelekha, the place she shares political and private views, critiquing the ruling Left and Congress.

Dr Renu Suresh, BJP’s normal secretary, instructed ThePrint that bureaucrats are getting attracted in direction of the occasion as they see it as a viable various for the state’s growth. “In the event that they wish to serve the nation, they know BJP is the selection. All of us work for political energy. Now we have energy on the Centre, and everybody is aware of we are able to obtain it in Kerala, too,” she mentioned.

Nevertheless, each the CPI(M) and Congress dismissed the bureaucrats’ entry into the BJP as “self-serving”.

“Many bureaucrats are exhibiting allegiance to the Proper nowadays. It could solely be seen as an try to learn from the occasion in energy on the Centre. It has little to do with ideology or politics,” a senior CPI(M) chief instructed ThePrint.

Congress spokesperson Sandeep Varrier mentioned that the retired officers’ entry into the BJP might not yield political advantages to the occasion itself. “In 2021, Thomas’s candidature didn’t assist the BJP in any respect. Even in Tamil Nadu, Annamalai’s management ended disastrously and ruined BJP’s alliances. It was a failed experiment. In Kerala too, it will likely be the identical.”

(Edited by Mannat Chugh)

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