Overview

• The Travancore Devaswom Board, with state support, has set the Global Ayyappa Sangamam for September 20 at Pampa as an apolitical, development-focused gathering of about 3,000 delegates.
• CPI(M) leaders insist the meet will proceed and call the 2018 women’s-entry controversy a “closed chapter,” saying the party stands with devotees.
• The UDF says it will decide on participation only if 2018 protest cases are withdrawn and the LDF’s Supreme Court affidavit is reversed, while stopping short of a boycott.
• Influential Hindu organisations NSS and SNDP have offered conditional support that prioritises temple traditions, as the BJP maintains opposition and demands case withdrawals.
• Rival Hindu outfits led by the Sabarimala Karma Samiti plan a ‘Sabarimala Samrakshana Sangamam’ at Pandalam on September 22, and the Kerala High Court has asked the TDB to detail the event’s nature and corporate sponsorship.