CPI(M) in Kerala extends olive branch to veteran leader G. Sudhakaran amid estrangement signals

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] in Kerala appears to have extended an olive branch to veteran leader G. Sudhakaran, who had signalled estrangement from the party by stating that he would not renew his membership. 

CPI(M) State committee member and former MP C.S. Sujatha and Alappuzha district secretariat member G. Harishankar called on Mr. Sudhakaran at his house on Friday and remained closeted for nearly an hour. Ms. Sujatha, however, later downplayed the visit, calling it “routine.”

Mr. Sudhakaran had caused a stir when the CPI(M) State secretariat was convening to finalise candidate selection on Wednesday by writing on Facebook that he felt “spurned and jeered at” by the party’s district and State leadership, and, hence, “saw no meaning” in applying for membership renewal. 

Mr. Sudhakaran had pointedly singled out CPI(M) State secretary M.V. Govindan and the party’s Alappuzha district secretary R. Nazar for criticism. He accused them of giving short shrift to his grievances. 

Ms. Sujatha’s visit came close on the heels of CPI(M) general secretary M.A. Baby expressing confidence on Thursday that Mr. Sudhakaran would not harm the party or the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and prove “doomsayers in the right-wing media wrong.” Notably, Ms Sujatha had visited Mr. Sudhakaran, purportedly in a troubleshooting role, after the veteran had a public fallout with Minister for Culture Saji Cherian in October 2025. 

CM’s event

The meeting also took place on the eve of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s arrival in Alappuzha on Saturday for the inauguration of a bridge, raising speculation about whether the leaders would meet. Mr. Sudhakaran is an invitee, but it remains unclear whether the veteran will share the stage with Mr. Vijayan, given that the former is recovering from a fall.

The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had sought to wring political advantage from the controversy. All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary K.C. Venugopal said “incorruptible leaders were deserting” the CPI(M). BJP national executive member P.K. Krishnadas openly invited Mr. Sudhakaran to join the party. 

Mr. Sudhakaran joined the CPI(M) in 1964. He was a State committee member for 42 years. In 2021, he was relegated to the branch committee in deference to the party’s age limit of 75 years and denied an Assembly ticket.