National Democratic Party (Kerala)

National Democratic Party (NDP) was a political party in Kerala, India that existed from 1974 to 1996 and was the political arm of Nair Service Society.^[1] NDP was formed with the aim of reservation of jobs for the economically backward sections of the Nairs. Founded by Kidangoor Gopalakrishna Pillai (General Secretary of NSS), K. P. Ramachandran Nair,^[2] Kalathil Velayudhan Nair and Aranmula Kesavan Nair in 1974.

National Democratic Party
Abbreviation	NDP
Founder	Kidangoor Gopalakrishna Pillai K. P. Ramachandran Nair
Founded	1974
Dissolved	1996; 28 years ago (1996)
Ideology	Welfare and development of the Nair community
Alliance	UDF (1982-1996)
Politics of India Political parties Elections

In assembly elections

National Democratic Party contested its first assembly elections in 1977 and won five assembly seats. Chathannoor Thankappan Pillai (Chengannur), N Bhaskaran Nair (Mavelikara), M P Narayanan Nair (Thiruvananthapuram East), R Sundareshan Nair (Neyyattinkara), Vattiyoorkavu Ravi (Thiruvananthapuram West) are the winners.

National Democratic Party contested in 1982 as an ally of Indian National Congress led United Democratic Front, in which it won four assembly seats. The elected members include Therambil Ramakrishnan (Thrissur), K.G.R. Kartha (Thrippunithara), K.R. Saraswathi Amma (Chengannur) and K. P. Ramachandran Nair^[3] (Alappuzha).

In the Third K. Karunakaran ministry as the nominee of Nair Service Society, K.G.R. Kartha sworn in as minister, but he was forced to step down. After Kartha's resign, in September 1983, R. Sundaresan Nair sworn in as the minister of state for health. After R. Sundaresan Nair's resignation, K. P. Ramachandran Nair took over as the minister for health.^[4]

Dissolution

NDP last contested an election in 1991. The party, which contested 3 seats in the udf front, won 2 seats. However, NDP left the UDF front in 1995 to protest against the desecration of the Mannam Samadhi Mandapam during Prime Minister Narasimha Rao's visit to Kerala. NSS dissolved the party in 1996.

List of presidents

• Kidangoor Gopalakrishna Pillai
• Therambil Ramakrishnan
• Upendranath Kurup
• P. K. Narayana Panicker

References

1. Pillai, Sreedhar (15 January 1983). "Nairs from all over Kerala congregate in Trivandrum for a Nair sammelan". India Today. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
2. "NDP founder Ramachandran Nair passes away". The Times of India. 29 February 2004. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
3. Pillai, Sreedhar (15 May 1984). "National Democratic Party suffers major split on eve of crucial by-polls in Kerala". India Today. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
4. Pillai, Sreedhar (15 June 1985). "Crisis in NDP over Ramachandran Nair resignation comes to a head". India Today. Retrieved 28 November 2017.