Veteran Malayalam actor Devan quits BJP, accuses party’s State unit of giving social reformer Sree Narayana Guru’s ideals the go-by

“My politics is based on the social ideals of Sree Narayana Guru. In the past five years, I have not seen them reflected in the BJP in Kerala. I have realised that the BJP State unit’s current line does not agree with my political orientation guided by the Guru’s ideals,” says Devan

Published - August 16, 2026 05:54 pm IST - Thiruvananthapuram

Veteran Malayalam film actor Devan on Sunday publicly aired his intention to quit the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), accusing the State unit of veering away from the ideals of social reformer and renaissance leader Sree Narayana Guru.

Notably, Mr. Devan, who is currently the BJP’s State vice-president, made his “resolve” clear at a function at the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam-controlled Kanichukulangara Devi temple in Alappuzha. SNDP Yogam general secretary Vellapally Natesan heads the temple’s administrative committee.

Mr. Devan said the BJP had veered away from the progressive social justice agenda set by the social reformer. “My politics is based on the social ideals of Guru. In the past five years, I have not seen them reflected in the BJP in Kerala. I have realised that the BJP State unit’s current line does not agree with my political orientation guided by the Guru’s ideals,” he added.

‘Contributed to poll win’

Mr. Devan claimed that as the vice-president, he had pursued his organisational and political responsibilities with vigour and passion. “I worked aggressively for the BJP. I contributed to the victory of BJP’s candidates, including the party’s State president Rajeev Chandrasekhar in the 2026 Assembly elections. Even Mr. Chandrasekhar cannot not deny the fact,” he added.

Mr. Devan said he arrived at his decision to quit the BJP’s primary membership after much introspection. “I had decided to part ways with the BJP in early 2026. I waited to make the declaration pointedly at the Kanichukulangara temple,” he said.

Mr. Devan forayed into politics from the tinsel world in 2004. He launched the Kerala Peoples Party, which he merged with the BJP in 2021 at the instance of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Mr. Devan’s resignation from the BJP comes as the party’s State unit confronts a series of controversies, including alleged diversion of Assembly election funds for private use, leadership absenteeism, impaired political orientation and response and “factionalism.”

Mr. Chandrasekhar has repeatedly denied the accusations. BJP leader P.C. George had raised the election fund misuse allegation, which he later sought to retract on Sunday. The Centre’s recent amendment to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act has threatened BJP’s social engineering outreach to Kerala’s Christian community and backwards-class voters, a significant section of which had hewed to the right in the 2026 Assembly elections.

Published - August 16, 2026 05:54 pm IST

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