Sahakar Bharati office in Ernakulam.
Kochi: The BJP central leadership's move to make silent inroads into Kerala politics, through Sahakar Bharati's Akshayasree-model initiatives and other welfare schemes and ventures, is observed seriously by the Left parties and Congress.
The transformation of Kudumbasree units as the strong political base for CPM at ground level underlines the political significance behind the move. Kudumbasree was inaugurated by the then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on May 17, 1998. What started as a government mission to eradicate poverty in rural areas has gradually become a political network of the CPM.
Congress and BJP leaders have openly admitted that their supporters became CPM activists after joining Kudumbasree. It was after taking serious notes from it, Congress launched the Janasree Sustainable Development Mission in 2006. However, it lost its sheen soon as the Congress party failed to push it further owing to the alleged apathy of its leaders. There were 50,000 Janasree units in 2011. Now there are only less than 20,000 units; most of them are inactive too.
Congress to strengthen Janasree units
