Kerala activist CK Janu and her forays into electoral politics

Kerala tribal leader CK Janu’s political career path has apparently disappointed her supporters. She was recently accused of accepting a bribe from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in exchange for joining forces with the saffron party in the recently concluded Assembly elections. When the state’s two main political fronts – the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) – failed to pay attention to tribal issues, Janu, who led the historic Muthanga movement demanding land back for the Adivasis in 2003, decided to enter electoral politics. Janu lost by a large margin as the NDA candidate in Sulthan Bathery.

But, as poet and activist Civic Chandran points out, setbacks in electoral politics are natural for grassroots level mass leaders, from Medha Patkar to Janu. He claims that the dynamics of electoral politics are completely different. CR Another activist, Neelakandan, observes that mainstream politics in Kerala is polarised. It is the LDF and the UDF’s fiefdom.

Civic Chandran observes that Dalit-Ambedkarite politics has expanded beyond Janu in its development. “Janu is a self-made woman who doesn’t care if she wins or loses an election. “Mainstream politics will always try to smear the image of leaders who represent Dalit politics, such as former UP Chief Minister and BSP supremo Mayawati,” he says.

Janu’s well-wishers, including Neelakandan, wanted her to run as a UDF candidate in the 2011 Assembly elections, according to Neelakandan. But she was hesitant at the time because she lacked confidence. Because Janu refused to run, the UDF nominated PK Jayalakshmi, who won and later became a minister. Janu’s political career would have been different if she had joined the Congress at the time, according to Neelakandan.

Janu was still hesitant to commit herself to electoral politics in 2014, when Sarah Joseph, me, and others joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP),” Neelakandan recalls. The political adventure of people like Neelakandan and Sarah Joseph, on the other hand, turned out to be bitter, and they quickly left the AAP.

Janu, according to Neelakandan, would have entered politics to further her cause rather than because she agrees with the BJP’s ideology.

Praseetha Azhikode, the state treasurer of the Janadhipathya Rashtriya Party (JRP), recently claimed that Janu received Rs 10 lakh from BJP state president K Surendran to return to the NDA for the 2021 Assembly elections. Janu was the one who started JRP.

Janu had almost indicated that she was quitting politics because the pandemic had left her penniless just days before she announced her party’s alliance with the BJP for the Assembly elections.

Janu told this reporter over the phone that despite her 35 years of activism, she realized that when she was in a financial or emotional crisis, no one was there to help her.

“I pondered what have I gained from all these 35 years of activism?” she said, adding that from now on she had decided to spend more time for herself and her eight-year-old daughter who is studying in Class 3.

Janu said that she had recently learned to drive. “I’m happy to work as a taxi driver for subsistence. I have only pride in working as a driver, to stand on my own two feet without being a burden to anyone,” Janu added.

Janu also said that she is occupied with giving the finishing touches to her autobiography Adimasanthathigaludae Adayala Pathagal (loose translation: The Imprints of the Path Taken by Slave Children).

Despite opposition from many in the Adivasi Gothra Maha Sabha, JRP contested the Assembly elections in 2016 in an alliance with the BJP-led NDA. Janu ran in that election and lost. Janu, a member of the Adiya tribe, which is said to be one of the state’s most oppressed indigenous communities, began her political activism with the CPI(M).

She left the BJP in 2018, but disappointed her supporters when she re-joined the party this year after allegedly being offered money. Janu has been suspended from the JRP for six months for allegedly making deals with the BJP during the Assembly elections.

In the meantime, janu has denied the charges leveled against her and stated that she will pursue legal action against her opponents.