Kerala polls: Ex-CPI(M) Minister G. Sudhakaran files papers as ‘people’s Independent’ in Ambalappuzha

G. Sudhakaran, former CPI(M) minister, files as "people's independent" in Ambalapuzha, challenging the LDF and sparking electoral tensions.

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.