If I understood your post correctly, then yes Awards are politicized (But I'm not complaining as Rahman Ji always gets what he deserves, TOUCH WOOD!)
With Sharreth Sir, I'm happy he included Neethane from June R in the CD of Mallu film Ivan Meghroopam otherwise I would've never come across such a gem. Definitely a good move, he is king. To this day, I'll still say that there is no other composer which has made me cry with their composition i.e. I hadn't ever heard of Sharreth and randomly heard his Tanthaneno song from Pulliman (It was the first track I heard by him), I have been a sucker for his music since and the rest is history...:bow: