(As Kerala gears up for the Assembly polls, every week, Shaju Philip decodes the electoral trends, political signals, and campaign moves shaping the contest.)
With barely a month to go for the Kerala Assembly polls, veteran Marxist leader and ex-minister G Sudhakaran’s decision to quit the CPI(M) and contest the election as an Independent has dealt a blow to the incumbent party.
Protesting against what he called was his “continued neglect” by the CPI(M) leadership, Sudhakaran, 79, severed his 63-year-long association with the party, and announced that he will contest as an Independent from his home turf Ambalappuzha in Alappuzha district. A four-time legislator, Sudhakaran represented the Ambalappuzha constituency from 2006 to 2016 before being dropped by the party.
Ambalappuzha has been a CPI(M) stronghold which elected party stalwarts like V S Achuthanandan and Susheela Gopalan in the past. It is currently represented by party leader H Salam.
Having been a high-profile CPI(M) leader, Sudhakaran’s sudden decision has stirred up the ruling LDF circles, with a question doing the rounds as to what extent he would be able to “damage” the party in the upcoming polls.
The CPI(M) sidelined Sudhakaran — the first state president of the party’s student wing SFI — as part of its decision to bring about a generational shift in its leadership positions at various levels. In the 2021 Assembly elections, he was among the CPI(M) veterans who had been shown the door from electoral politics with the party deciding not to give tickets to its MLAs who had already completed two consecutive terms.
During its party congress at Kannur in 2022, the CPI(M) took a decision to drop all leaders above the age of 75 from its key decision making bodies such as the Central Committee or Politburo. Sudhakaran was then removed from the state party committee along with other leaders in the 75-year category. The two-term Chief Minister and Politburo member, Pinarayi Vijayan, 80, has been given an exemption in this regard.
Sudhakaran’s capacity to undermine the Left’s prospects in the elections would depend on the degree to which his campaigning would be able to make an impact in Alappuzha district. The challenge for Sudhakaran would be to frame his issues against the LDF in terms that could resonate with the Left workers as well as voters.
Observers point out that there is a section of the CPI(M) cadre and supporters who have been critical of the party’s bid to “water down ideology” in its all-out bid to return to power for a third consecutive term. They have been putting pressure on the party leadership for a “course correction”. It would be closely watched whether Sudhakaran could connect with them and reflect their concerns in the course of the elections.
What has however come as a “relief” to the CPI(M) leadership is that Sudhakaran’s revolt is not based on any ideological grounds but mainly caused by his perceived “insult and neglect in Alappuzha”. Also, even after quitting the party, his ambivalence towards it is evident. He has stated that he will not speak any adverse thing against the CPI(M) and would be “happy” to see Vijayan return to the helm as the CM for the third consecutive term. Yet, the principal Opposition Congress is seriously exploring the option of backing Sudhakaran in the Ambalappuzha seat in the election.
Sudhakaran has become the fourth ex-legislator to quit the CPI(M) over the last year, with others including former three-term MLA from Devikulam, S Rajendran, ex-MLA from Kottarakkara, Aisha Potty, who recently joined the Congress, and P K Sasi, who had been Shornur MLA from 2016 to 2021. They had all been marginalised in the party before their exit.
Last week, Sasi organised a convention of rebel CPI(M) activists in Palakkad, following which the party leadership cracked the whip and expelled him from the party. A silver lining for the CPI(M) camp is the point that its dissident leaders do not seem to have an ideological vision or political roadmap that they could build on to mobilise an alternative pan-Kerala Left movement.
Sasi was sidelined in the CPI(M) over alleged misconduct and financial irregularities. His track record may deter Sudhakaran from aligning with him and other disgruntled CPI(M) members in Palakkad, which is also one of the party’s bastions.