Kerala Politics: When Red and Saffron Fight on Stage but Shake Hands Backstage

Kerala is often celebrated as a politically aware state. People debate, question, protest, and read between the lines. Yet, when it comes to real accountability at the highest level of power, Kerala looks disturbingly similar to the rest of India: loud accusations, dramatic investigations, endless court dates—and zero final conclusions.

Over the last two terms of Pinarayi Vijayan’s government, corruption allegations have not come in ones or twos. They have arrived in clusters. Ministers, close aides, boards, departments, even family members have been named at different times. Central agencies stormed into Kerala repeatedly with confidence, conviction, and cameras. Ordinary people believed: “This time something big will finally happen.”

But nothing ever really did.

This is where the uncomfortable discussion begins—not about ideology, but about nexus.

The Lavalin Case: A File That Refuses to Close

The SNC-Lavalin scandal is older than many first-time voters today. It goes back to the 1990s, when Pinarayi Vijayan was the Electricity Minister. A deal was signed with a Canadian company to renovate hydel projects in Kerala. Later, audit reports stated that the state suffered massive financial loss.

For decades, this case has floated like a ghost over Kerala politics.

• CBI charged Pinarayi.
• Courts discharged him.
• Appeals were filed.
• Appeals were delayed.
• Hearings were postponed again and again.

When BJP came to power at the Centre, many genuinely believed the case would finally reach a conclusion. After all, BJP and CPI(M) are sworn enemies, right?

Yet, nothing changed.

The case did not collapse dramatically. It was not concluded decisively either. It simply kept getting postponed, silently, endlessly. Even enforcement cases related to the same issue moved at a speed that made people wonder: Is this inefficiency—or convenience?

Pinarayi, meanwhile, remained calm and confident throughout. That confidence itself became political evidence in the minds of many citizens.

When a case runs for over two decades without resolution, people stop asking who is guilty and start asking who is protected.

Gold Smuggling Case: Tremors That Stopped Short of the Top

In 2020, Kerala woke up to one of the biggest scandals in its history: diplomatic gold smuggling.

Gold arrived disguised as diplomatic cargo. Arrests followed. Names emerged—Swapna Suresh, customs officials, middlemen, and most importantly, the Chief Minister’s principal secretary.

That moment was explosive. For the first time, the Chief Minister’s Office itself came under public suspicion.

Multiple agencies jumped in—Customs, ED, NIA. Media coverage was massive. BJP leaders confidently said this would expose the entire LDF leadership.

And then?

One senior IAS officer was arrested. Some others were questioned. The trail slowed down—and stopped well before reaching ministers or the Chief Minister.

Years later:

• No charge against Pinarayi Vijayan.
• No political accountability.
• No explanation for how smuggling networks operated so freely under the nose of the system.

People weren’t expecting instant convictions. But they were expecting seriousness all the way to the top. That never happened.

Once again, big noise. Small outcome.

The Exalogic–Mining Company Case: Money Without Service?

Then came a case that made people uncomfortable in a different way—not about government files, but about family.

Pinarayi Vijayan’s daughter’s company reportedly received money from a private mining firm. The issue was not merely payment—it was whether any service was actually provided in return.

Tax authorities later said the company failed to justify the services. That alone was enough to raise red flags in the public mind.

This was one case where many thought the story would not end quietly. After all:

• Documents existed.
• Payment trails existed.
• Statements were on record.

Again, agencies circled. Petitions were filed. Headlines were written.

But legally, the case got trapped in delays, technical arguments, and procedural slow motion. No arrests. No decisive probe. No conclusion.

People began noticing a pattern:
When allegations hit the second or third layer of power—something happens. When they point upwards—air.

Education Policy: Secret Yes, Public No

Ideology matters most when cameras are on. That’s what the PM SHRI episode revealed.

Publicly, the Kerala government had always opposed the Centre’s education policy, calling it centralisation and ideological intrusion. Privately, the government quietly signed the agreement.

No cabinet discussion.
No alliance consultation.
No public debate.

Only when allies and opposition exposed it did the government suddenly retreat and oppose the very scheme it had already accepted.

This raised serious questions:

• Why sign secretly if you oppose it?
• Why oppose loudly after signing?
• And why such silence from BJP’s Kerala unit over such a major “win” for them?

It looked less like ideological warfare and more like political bargaining.

Sabarimala Gold Case: Temples, Party Cadres, and Power

Sabarimala is not just a temple. It is faith, money, and influence combined.

When allegations emerged that gold linked to Sabarimala was siphoned off during renovation works, the shock was immense. What made it worse was who got arrested: top leaders of the Travancore Devaswom Board with known CPI(M) links.

This was no random accident. These were party-appointed positions handling sacred and valuable assets.

The case began moving closer to ministers and higher political responsibility. Questions started getting uncomfortable.

And then—almost on cue—another massive scandal exploded in the media.

The Sudden Shift of Attention

A serious sexual assault case emerged involving a Congress MLA. The case itself is grave and must be addressed properly. No one disputes that.

But the timing and direction of media attention raised eyebrows.

For days, Sabarimala gold theft dominated discussions. Then suddenly, focus shifted entirely. TV debates changed. Social media narratives changed. Political pressure shifted.

This is not to undermine the seriousness of the new case—but to highlight how selective outrage often works in politics.

Scandals don’t disappear. They are replaced.

The Masala Bond Episode: Old Wine, Same Bottle, Same Ending?

Just when people thought Kerala had exhausted its quota of “unfinished scandals,” the masala bond case has resurfaced yesterday.

Years ago, under Pinarayi Vijayan’s leadership, the Kerala government—through KIIFB—listed masala bonds on the London Stock Exchange, with the Chief Minister himself heading KIIFB and the then Finance Minister playing a key role.

At the time, serious questions were raised about whether state borrowings were taken outside the permissible limits, whether RBI approval norms were bypassed, and whether this amounted to off-book debt that masked Kerala’s real financial health.

Now, recently with the Enforcement Directorate issuing notices to the Chief Minister and the former Finance Minister, there is fresh headlines and familiar excitement.

But, as Congress MLA Mathew Kuzhalnadan bluntly put it, many in Kerala already believe this too will end as a “routine investigation”—ED will circle, question, leak a few statements, and quietly step back before digging deep enough to identify responsibility at the top.

The fear is not that questions will be asked, but that they will stop exactly where they always stop—just short of accountability—further strengthening the public perception that in Kerala, financial experiments that push legal boundaries are loudly investigated, softly handled, and eventually filed away without consequences.

BJP’s Kerala Silence: Protest, Pause, Disappear

If BJP truly believed all these cases were genuine, Kerala should have seen massive sustained protests. Instead, what happened?

• One or two-day protests.
• Press conferences.
• Silence.

No long-term agitation.
No sustained pressure.
No moral high ground campaign.

For a party that aggressively uses corruption narratives elsewhere, this relaxed attitude in Kerala feels strangely out of character.

So What Is the Nexus Really?

Is there a written agreement between BJP and CPI(M)? No proof.
Is there a visible pattern of mutual convenience? Absolutely.

Across cases, one thing stands out:

• Agencies move.
• Media explodes.
• Politics heats up.
• Top leadership survives untouched.

This is not unique to Kerala. Maharashtra, Delhi, and other states have shown similar patterns. Ideologies differ. Survival strategies don’t.

Corruption doesn’t respect Marx or Mandir.
Power protects power.

The Real Tragedy

The real tragedy is not whether Pinarayi is guilty or innocent. Courts will decide that—slowly.

The tragedy is that:

• Citizens are trained to celebrate raids instead of verdicts.
• Agencies are used to send signals, not deliver justice.
• Political fights distract people from institutional collapse.

In such a system, corruption doesn’t need secrecy. It just needs patience.

The Final Question for Kerala

If enemies never manage to legally destroy each other despite decades of allegations, maybe they are not enemies where it matters most.

So ask yourself—not which party you support—but this:

If tomorrow a bigger scandal breaks, do you expect justice… or just another adjournment?

If your answer is “adjournment,” then the problem is no longer Pinarayi, BJP, or CPI(M).

The problem is the system—and our willingness to accept endless noise instead of real accountability.

And in that silence, corruption quietly wins.

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