ALAPPUZHA: G Sudhakaran’s announcement to contest the Ambalapuzha assembly constituency as an independent marks the end of his 63-year-long association with the CPM. The veteran leader, who was the first state president of the SFI when it was formed in 1970, remained closely associated with the party for decades. However, differences cropped up after CPM denied him a chance to contest the 2021 assembly elections, choosing H Salam instead.
During campaigning, posters criticising Salam appeared across the constituency, triggering a political controversy. Sudhakaran’s opponents within the party alleged that he was behind the campaign. Salam eventually won, but the episode prompted district leaders to submit a complaint against Sudhakaran before the state leadership.
The party appointed an inquiry commission, whose report was critical of Sudhakaran. This widened the rift between him and the party leadership. As part of the disciplinary action, he was demoted to branch committee level in 2022, marking a significant fall for a leader who had long held prominent positions within the party.
Things came to a head last week when Sudhakaran decided not to renew his primary membership in the CPM. Though party leaders visited his residence with membership forms, he refused to budge. As a result, his membership automatically lapsed.
At a press conference on Thursday, Sudhakaran said he had been a CPM member for 43 years and had attended the party congress 15 times as a delegate. “I am a committed communist, in both words and deeds,” he said. He also strongly criticised certain district-level party leaders and cadre, alleging that they targeted not only him but also his late father and brother on social media.
Though he lodged complaints with the party leadership, neither the district committee nor the state leadership publicly responded to the attacks, which he said upset him deeply. He also accused the party-appointed commission led by Elamaram Karim of acting with bias. Sudhakaran said the commission did not properly consider his explanations and instead sided with his opponents.
He said that though he conveyed his interest in contesting from Ambalapuzha this year to party general secretary M A Baby, there was no favourable response. The remarks and facial expressions of CPM state secretary M V Govindan during a press conference regarding his possible candidacy hurt him further, Sudhakaran said.
He said these developments eventually pushed him to take the ‘extreme step’ of contesting the election as an independent candidate.