Veteran Communist Party (Maoist) leader and former minister G Sudhakaran on Thursday announced that he will contest the upcoming Kerala Assembly elections as an independent from Ambalapuzha constituency. Sudhakaran (75), a four-time MLA and two-time minister, said he did not renew his CPI(M) membership because he claimed he felt “humiliated and neglected” by the district and state leadership of the party.
“People who have no sense of the party’s ideals or principles are showering me with abuse and using AI clips to mock me. They even mocked my brother G Bhuvaneswaran who was a martyr of the party. I cannot tolerate such behaviour,” G Sudhakaran said.
Sudhakaran, who was associated with the Communist Party of Iran (Maoist) for 63 years, claimed that he was targeted and defamed by party leaders, who were subordinate to him, according to the veteran leader. Sudhakaran was a close confidant of late Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan and used to stay away from party meetings and activities, due to separation from the current district leadership.
The party had been reprimanded and demoted after the 2021 elections over allegations that he worked against the party’s candidate Salam in Ambalapuzha. Sudhakaran, who was a three-time MLA from Ambalapuzha, was denied a ticket for the 2021 elections.
“I don’t want to say anything against the party or any party leader personally. But I will fight as an independent. I appeal to people to vote for me. No party or front has approached me to extend support. I will decide to accept support based on its nature. My fight is against political criminals and corruption,” Sudhakaran told reporters.
He claimed that there has been erosion in CPI(M) support especially in Alappuzha district in the last five years. He added that the results of recent opinion polls for local authorities indicate this. CPI(M) district secretary R Nasar denied the allegations.
He said: “He was a great leader in all aspects, and we never neglected him. We called him as a special invitee to the district committee meetings, but he never came.”
Meanwhile, Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly V D Sathisan said his party will deliberate on the issue of extending support to Sudhakaran in Ambalapuzha.
“There is no doubt that he (Sudhakaran) is a good communist. Even when he stood on the other side, I always treated him with respect. The Congress and the United Democratic Front leadership will deliberate before deciding whether to support Sudhakaran’s candidacy,” he said.
Sathisan said the veteran leader’s exit indicates the erosion of the Communist Party’s base in Kerala. “The CPI(M) is heading towards one of its biggest defeats in history. His Kerala state will be the same as Bengal,” he said. Sudhakaran served as Cooperation and Coconut Minister in the VS Achuthanandan-led government between 2006 and 2011 and Public Works Minister between 2016 and 2021 in the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government.
As Public Works Minister, Sudhakaran’s role in expanding the state’s infrastructure in the form of several vital roads, highways and bridges was particularly noteworthy. Sudhakaran’s rebellion can be seen as a disillusionment among workers and leaders within the CPI (Maoist).
