Sudhakaran’s exit: Seismic changes ahead for Alappuzha election

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As G. Sudhakaran severs his umbilical ties and steps down from the party, the CPI(M) loses arguably the strongest leader in Alappuzha since V.S. Achuthanandan and K.R. Gouri Amma. Following the departure of figures like Gouri Amma and M.V. Raghavan, Sudhakaran becomes another prominent leader to part ways with the CPI(M). The crisis that the party will face in an election where G. Sudhakaran stands as an opponent cannot be underestimated. If the sentiment that the party has failed to do justice to a leader with an unblemished political reputation takes root, its repercussions will be felt not just in Alappuzha, but across the entire state. As the Congress readies itself to extend wholehearted support to Sudhakaran, their own strategic approach is also likely to undergo unexpected shifts.

While the stories of the years of M.V. Raghavan and K.R. Gouri Amma may be invoked as defensive arguments, times have changed. Having walked with the party for over six and a half decades, Sudhakaran remained the unquestioned leader of the district for nearly a quarter of a century. Leaders currently in Alappuzha, including Minister Saji Cheriyan, District Secretary R. Nassar, and MLA H. Salam, were all molded under his political tutelage. There is a palpable sense of sorrow among party sympathisers and neutral observers—who admire his transparent political persona—that the party leadership ignored the grievances raised by Sudhakaran. This sentiment is likely to reflect significantly in the upcoming elections. His acceptability in the public sphere, transcending political lines, is set to trigger major debates.

Born the second of five children to P. Gopalakurup and L. Pankajakshi in Thiruvananthapuram's Thamarakkulam panchayat, Sudhakaran was active in the organisational arena even during his school days. As a former State Joint Secretary of the KSF, he also became the first State President of the SFI in 1971. During the Emergency, he led a student protest march from University College to the front of the Secretariat, resulting in his arrest and subsequent subjection to brutal police torture and imprisonment. SFI leader G. Bhuvaneswaran, who was killed during a KSU attack at Pandalam NSS College, was his younger brother.

Though Sudhakaran once shared close bonds with K.R. Gouri Amma and V.S. Achuthanandan, he later emerged as a staunch spokesperson for the party’s official faction. He was one of the most powerful District Secretaries Alappuzha has ever seen, and an efficient Minister who remained beyond reproach. He first entered the Legislative Assembly in 1996 by defeating the formidable Congress leader Thachadi Prabhakaran in Kayamkulam. In 2001, he faced a defeat of 1,764 votes against M.M. Hassan in the same constituency, but in 2006, Sudhakaran defeated senior Congress leader D. Sugathan in Ambalappuzha by 11,929 votes, repeating his impressive success in 2011 and 2016.