Kerala Assembly polls: V.D. Satheesan praises G. Sudhakaran as ‘a just administrator’

Kerala’s Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan on Saturday said that former Minister G. Sudhakaran was the only member of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) Cabinet between 2006 and 2011 who was spared of corruption allegations raised by him, and one for whom he had the “utmost respect.”

Speaking to reporters at his constituency in North Paravur, Mr. Satheesan was asked whether Mr. Sudhakaran would become a liability to the United Democratic Front (UDF). “The media can interpret it any way they want,” he said, adding that he trusted Mr. Sudhakaran’s version that the Chief Minister had not called him, contrary to the latter’s claim.

“G. Sudhakaran will not lie. Even when we were attacking LDF Ministers back then, he was a person I spoke about with respect. The Assembly records bear testimony to that. I have not had the opportunity to say the same about any other LDF or CPI(M) Minister. He was a just and ethical administrator, who functioned overlooking political differences,” Mr. Satheesan said.

He dismissed allegations that Mr. Sudhakaran had planned his moves in advance after holding discussions with UDF leaders. “He took a stand, and we decided to extend political support,” he said.

‘No dissent’

Mr. Satheesan accused the CPI(M) of pushing the narrative that the Congress was beset with internal problems. “There were media reports of a fight between me and K.C. Venugopal over the Kochi seat. It was KC who told me about the news, and we had a good laugh watching it together,” he said.

Instead, he pointed to dissent within the CPI(M) over candidate selection. “For example, A.N. Shamseer did not get a seat in Thalassery, which was allotted to someone else. There are many such issues. Even now, several CPI(M) and NDA candidates are nowhere to be seen. We have already finalised all 140 candidates and begun campaigning,” he said.

He also dismissed reports that senior Congress leader K. Sudhakaran had expressed doubts about his forecast of the UDF returning to power with over 100 seats.

“That was taken out of context. He has clarified it and posted on Facebook as well. What he said was that the Opposition Leader’s claim of coming to power with more than 100 seats is 100% correct. He always tells me my calculations don’t go wrong. He said the same about my predictions in Thrikkakara, Puthuppally, Palakkad, Nilambur, and the Lok Sabha elections,” Mr. Satheesan said.