Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] dissident and former Minister G. Sudhakaran crossed the political Rubicon and dared the Left Democratic Front (LDF) in its home turf by filing his nomination as a “people’s Independent” in the Ambalappuzha Assembly constituency in Alappuzha, Kerala, on Saturday (March 21, 2026).
Mr. Sudhakaran, who had broken his six-decade-old association with the party after feeling “discriminated against” that he was not given a term waiver accorded to other leaders for contesting the 2026 Kerala Assembly polls, has set the stage for a riveting electoral battle with his one-time protege H. Salam of the CPI(M).
As chance would have it, Mr. Salam ran into Mr. Sudhakaran, his erstwhile mentor-turned-bitter critic, at the Alappuzha District Collectorate. Both leaders shook hands and wished each other well.
Mr. Sudhakaran, who was elected four times on the CPI(M) ticket from Ambalappuzha, notably eschewed his usual practice of paying respects to the martyrs of the Punnapra-Vayalar uprising at the Valiya Chudukadu burial ground, considered hallowed by communists, before filing his nomination.
Instead, Mr. Sudhakaran arrived at the Collectorate straight from his residence in the company of scores of Congress workers. The veteran leader had initially said he would go the whole hog alone and required no roadshows, election conventions or booth committees.
Later, Mr. Sudhakaran accepted the unconditional support of the United Democratic Front (UDF), which appeared keen to discomfit the CPI(M) in its home turf. He is scheduled to participate in a UDF roadshow and attend an election meeting chaired by AICC general secretary K.C. Venugopal, MP.
Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan had termed Mr. Sudhakaran’s “defection” a UDF-orchestrated “miracle”.
The UDF believed that Mr. Sudhakaran’s candidature would help split LDF votes in Alappuzha. The CPI(M) appeared confident that its organisational strength, with 190 booth committees in the Ambalappuzha constituency alone, would see it to victory.
Meanwhile, the sidelining of party hopefuls for Mr. Sudhakaran sparked a rebellion in the Congress, with former KPCC general secretary M.J. Job and his loyalists defecting to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Mr. Sudhakaran, who has been trenchantly critical of his erstwhile ideological compatriots on the Left of late, including Minister for Culture Saji Cherian and Mr. Salam, has promised to campaign against Agriculture Minister and CPI leader P. Prasad in Cherthala after expressing bitterness that the latter had questioned his communist moorings.
Mr. Sudhakaran had faced flak from the CPI(M), including Mr. Cherian, for “betraying” the party.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had told news channels on Friday that Mr. Sudhakaran had not responded to his calls, and that the veteran’s “deviation to the right, fuelled by parliamentary ambitions,” had manifested much earlier, a claim the former Minister has repeatedly refuted.