BJP leader and Guruvayur candidate B Gopalakrishnan's controversial "Hindu MLA" remark and Congress candidate Sarath Chandra Prasad's barb that his opponent - the CPM's Kadakampally Surendran, who is being linked to those accused in the Sabarimala gold heist case - would be "caught by the tigers of Lord Ayyappa" are all aimed at triggering communal sentiments in the assembly elections.

Meanwhile, the CPM and the Congress - in an effort to woo Muslim voters - are accusing each other of having struck covert deals with the BJP.

Kerala has been witnessing many such communal remarks - sometimes even by senior politicians. Political analysts point out that the trend is the outcome of the BJP-RSS' active role in Kerala politics.

"If the Congress and the CPM's communal campaigns were earlier aimed at minority-vote polarisation, they are now for Hindu vote polarisation. It could be seen as the outcome of the active entry of the BJP-RSS in Kerala's electoral politics," said senior journalist B V Pavanan.

The entry of the Bharat Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS) - a political forum linked to the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP) - into the BJP camp seems to have done away with the stigma of an openly communal stand among mainstream political parties. The SNDP, which follows the teachings of social reformer Sree Narayana Guru, is considered a highly secular body.

"Communal equations used to be discussed only during candidate selection. Afterwards, all were considered as leaders. There was even a chief minister from the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), C H Mohammed Koya. But now, the IUML is being given a communal colour," said senior journalist and political commentator Jacob George.

Leaders of various communities and churches are also openly supporting political parties, and they are in turn openly highlighting communal representation among candidates.

Kerala's voters have proved on several occasions that community leaders' political intervention has little influence on them. There is now a growing feeling among voters that community heads have vested interests in pleasing political leaders.

G Sukumaran Nair, who heads the Nair Service Society, which represents the Hindu Nair community, made an open statement in the run-up to the 2021 election against the then Left Front government, citing the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple women's entry issue. Nevertheless, the Left Front returned to power, even improving the number of seats it won.

Meanwhile, Congress leader V M Sudheeran won elections despite open moves against him by SNDP general secretary Vellappally Natesan.