Kerala CPI(M) veteran G. Sudhakaran says ‘no plans’ to join any other front, reaffirms loyalty to party

Putting an end to speculations of him contesting as an Independent candidate with the support of the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) in the upcoming Assembly elections in Kerala, Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] veteran and former Minister G. Sudhakaran on Thursday (March 12, 2026) said he has no plans to join any other party or front.

Addressing a press conference, he said he has “no plans of abandoning the Communist party’s ideals, to which he remains steadfast to.”

“For the past few days, there have been a lot of speculations in the media regarding my candidature. Till this moment, I have not held discussions with any leader from the Opposition party or told any mediaperson that I am planning to contest as part of any front. There have also been false claims that CPI(M) party leaders have paid a visit to mollify me. No situation exists for them to carry out such a mission. CPI(M) State committee member C.S. Sujatha and Alappuzha district secretariat member G. Harishankar, who visited, are my relatives. (CPI(M) general secretary) M.A. Baby also spoke to me,” said Mr. Sudhakaran.

‘Opposed to all kinds of communalism’

He said he remained “opposed to all kinds of communalism”, including majority and minority communalism, both of which are “dangerous.”

However, he reiterated his earlier statement that he had not applied for membership scrutiny (an annual intra-party exercise) because he felt that the party’s State and district (Alappuzha) leadership had “spurned and ridiculed him”. He said that he will “hit back with full force, but with civility, to any attempts to character assassinate him.”

“People who have grown up without studying or understanding the party’s ideals shower abuses at me and made AI clips to insult me. I will not approve of such behaviour. I will continue to voice the party’s ideals. Some people in responsible positions claim that I shouldn’t be demanding more since I got the Minister post for two terms. That is an un-Marxian opinion. Communist leaders such as Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Castro have all remained in their positions till the end of their lives. No one asked them these questions. The only question that matters is what the person has done using that post,” he said.

While speaking on the many projects implemented under his tenure as a Minister, he said that not even the party’s mouthpiece Deshabhimani now mentions the fact that the Perumbalam bridge, which was completed recently with much fanfare, was initiated under his tenure as the PWD Minister.

He called for “introspection within the party” regarding the eroding voter base in Alappuzha district in the recent local body elections, owing to “questionable decisions on candidature” at various constituencies.