Who is Unnikrishnan Potty, the former Sabarimala priest at the centre of gold

In recent years, court verdicts, government actions, and political manoeuvring have sparked multiple controversies around the Sabarimala pilgrimage centre. Now, a fresh dispute has emerged over the temple’s governance, with Bengaluru-based Malayali “sponsor” Unnikrishnan Potty, a former junior priest at Sabarimala, at the centre of the storm.

In early September, the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), which manages the Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple, abruptly decided to remove the gold-plated copper sheets from the 18th-century Dwarapalaka (gatekeeper) idols flanking the sanctum sanctorum. The plates were handed over to “sponsor” Potty for transport to Smart Creations, a jewellery firm in Chennai, for re-plating—without prior approval or intimation to the Sabarimala Special Commissioner or the Ke