THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The political situation in Kerala is that leaders are changing parties and when many thought there would be no such thing in CPI-M, the trickle has set in. The question now is if the flow will be steady.
Just the other day, the AICC General Secretary (Organisation) K. C. Venugopal, the Alappuzha Lok Sabha member dropped into the house of veteran two-time former CPI-M State Minister G. Sudhakaran, who is the foremost communist in the district.
Ever since Sudhakaran was not given a ticket to contest the 2021 Assembly polls from his political borough Amabalapuzha Assembly constituency which he represented for four terms, the 74-year-old veteran has been unhappy.
Sudhakaran is considered to be a politician with a clean track record and is also respected by his fierce Congress rivals for his impeccable public life.
Even though there were questions about the meeting between Venugopal and Sudhakaran, on Tuesday veteran Congress leader and sitting Lok Sabha member from Kasargod Rajmohan Unnithan told IANS that the meeting has significance.
“Whatever people might say, it was a courteous call. You just wait and see. There is more than what meets the eye. Sudhakaran is known for his clean political track record compared to many others in his party. Everyone knows there is unrest in the CPI-M on account of the way the party and its present leadership are running the affairs, ” said Unnithan, known for his razor-sharp tongue.
“Just have a look at what’s happening in CPI-M, there is unrest in practically all the 14 districts of the state. The prime reason for this unrest is the way the party is going forward. In the past one week, it has started as a trickle as local leaders have started to shift their loyalties towards Congress and BJP. If our Congress leadership plays its cards well, the trickle will soon become a steady flow, ” added Unnithan.
Incidentally, factionalism has now become a headache for its state party Secretary M. V. Govindan who is running from pillar to post, attending many meetings where factionalism has raised its head.
What has come as a shock for the CPI-M top brass is that all this unrest is happening with the state party conference scheduled for early next year.
On Tuesday one of its popular local leaders, M. Madhu in the capital district, quit the party and will be joining BJP.
“Yesterday our district meeting decided to oust Madhu and the state committee on Tuesday gave the approval for it. Madhu was in talks with BJP which we knew, ” said CPI-M Thiruvananthapuram district secretary and Varkala MLA V. Joy.
Recent incidents of unrest within the party have been reported from Alappuzha, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, and Palakkad as well.
Leader of Opposition V. D. Satheesan said that he has the highest regard for Sudhakaran as a legislator and a State Minister and is a highly respected political personality.
“We are closely watching the developments that are now happening in the CPI-M, ” said Satheesan.