Allegations of large-scale financial irregularities in the conduct of the Global Ayyappa Sangamam held in Pampa in August 2025 have triggered a fresh political storm in Kerala.
Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala alleged a huge fraud under the guise of the Ayyappa Sangamam. He said he would move a breach of privilege notice against the Devaswom Minister V N Vasavan for allegedly providing incorrect information in the Kerala Assembly regarding the expenditure of the Ayyappa Sangamam.
Chennithala claimed that the Devaswom Minister had stated that funds related to the event were handed over to the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), but the full amount had not been transferred. “The government told the court that the event would not have been conducted at government expense. But a different version was presented in the Assembly. Why are there two sets of figures before the Assembly and the High Court,” he asked.
Another Congress leader Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan demanded that the accounts and expenditure details of the Ayyappa meet must be made fully public. “People have the right to know the truth,” he said.
Meanwhile, it has been reported that Rs. 8 lakh was charged for Nanda Govindam Bhajans but the Nanda Govindam troupe was never invited to the Sangam that day nor did they arrive for the programme.
However, it has been reported that the name of Nanda Govindam Bhajans has been mentioned in the audit report submitted by the Devaswom Board to the High Court. The activists of Nanda Govindam Bhajans have clarified that they have not performed any program at Pampa or Sannidhanam in connection with the Ayyappa Sangamam.
The TDB reportedly incurred a loss of Rs 3.4 crore on the Global Ayyappa Sangamam, according to a Special Commissioner’s audit report submitted before the Kerala High Court on Wednesday.
The report states that the total expenditure incurred by the TDB was not fully recovered through sponsorships as initially planned. The Travancore Devaswom Board had advanced Rs 3 crore for organising the event, with the condition that the amount would be reimbursed once sponsorship funds were mobilised. However, there is no clarity on whether the entire amount was raised through sponsorship.
The audit report also points to a lack of transparency in fund utilisation. It notes that the decision to conduct the Global Ayyappa Meet was not recorded in the official minutes of the TDB. The event was organised when P S Prasanth was TDB president.
The High Court had earlier directed that not even a single rupee should be taken from the government or the Devaswom Board for conducting the Ayyappa Sangamam. Despite this, Rs 3.4 crore was reportedly drawn from the board’s surplus fund for the event.
It has also been reported that an amount of Rs 4 core is due for payment to the Indian Institute of Infrastructure and Construction, an affiliated institution of Uralungal society, which built the pandal for the meet. Also, an amount of Rs 12 lakh is due for the payment of Gokulam Grand Resort in Kumarakom.
In this connection, former TDB president PS Prasanth, during whose tenure the event was held, took to social media to say that attempts were being made to spread misinformation regarding the organisational expenses of the Ayyappa Meet.
“So far, only Rs 3 crore has been spent for organising the event. This entire amount was received through sponsorship. An additional Rs 1 crore has also been obtained as sponsorship,” Prasanth said. “An advance of Rs 3 crore had been drawn under the head ‘Religious Conferences and Discourses’ for organisational purposes. However, immediately upon receiving the sponsorship funds, the amount was fully repaid on October 17, 2025. Apart from this, not even a single rupee has been spent from the Devaswom Board’s funds to date,” he said.
“With regard to the total expenditure, the Devaswom Commissioner, in an interim report submitted before the court on November 4, 2025, had stated that the total amount was Rs 4.5 crore plus GST,” he said.
Meanwhile, Vasavan reiterated that it is the TDB that should clarify the income and expenditure accounts of Global Ayyappa Sangamam. The government has no authority to say about the accounts.The minister also clarified that the Devaswom Board(TDB) will tell everything.