In the past decade, five people in Wayanad have taken their own lives, not out of personal reasons, but caught in the cruel knots of political games.
Published Sep 19, 2025 | 10:40 AM ⚊ Updated Sep 19, 2025 | 10:40 AM
Synopsis: Wayanad, a district that holds the Congress in its heart, which once carried only freshness now carries something heavier. In the past decade, five people here have taken their own lives, not out of personal reasons, but caught in the cruel knots of political games within the grand old party.
From Adivaram to Lakkidi, the breeze cools and the nine hairpins of Thamarassery ghat — the gateway to Wayanad district — twist like North Kerala’s politics, sharp, sudden and uncertain. At the misty Lakkidi, even the air carries whispers of politics rooted in its soil.
For years, this land has sheltered the Congress. As one local said, ”Wayanad saves leaders from the burning heat of Amethi and Rae Bareli.” And so Rahul Gandhi came, and now Priyanka Gandhi, finding the hilly district the safest shelter the Congress has in the South.
However, the breeze that once carried only freshness now carries something heavier. It smells of death. In the past decade, five people in Wayanad have taken their own lives, not out of personal reasons, but caught in the cruel knots of political games.
The rising suicide cases in Wayanad have drawn MP Priyanka Gandhi’s attention, who sought an explanation from the district leadership.
Meanwhile, senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi will visit Wayanad on Friday, 19 September.
Rahul Gandhi is expected to meet state leaders, including Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President Sunny Joseph, at the Wayanad District Congress Committee (DCC) office.
Congress General Secretary and Alappuzha MP KC Venugopal and Joseph have also convened a meeting with local leaders, including DCC President ND Appachan and MLA IC Balakrishnan.
PV John.
It was exactly ten years ago that PV John, Congress Mananthavady Block Committee president and Wayanad DCC general secretary, was found hanging inside the Congress office.
In November 2015, John, a senior leader from Wayanad who began his political journey with the Congress back in 1978, ended his life.
The reason, as he revealed in his suicide note, was betrayal.
After years of factional disputes, John was finally given a ticket in the local body elections. He contested from the Puthanpura division in Mananthavady municipality.
However, alongside him, a rebel candidate, backed quietly by sections of the Congress leadership, was also in the fray. When the results were declared, the party’s official candidate, John, secured only 39 votes, finishing fourth.
In his final note, John poured out the pain of being sidelined and sabotaged by his own colleagues.
He had repeatedly alerted the DCC about leaders working against him, but his concerns went unheard. Feeling cornered and unable to fight back, he held certain local leaders responsible for his defeat.
Before signing off, he left behind an appeal to a handful of senior Congressmen, asking them to protect the party’s future in Wayanad from the grip of those he believed were destroying it.
Rajendran Nair
Rajendran Nair was more than just a Congress sympathiser in Pulppally; he was a familiar face in society and a close aide to several district-level Congress leaders in Wayanad.
Yet, in 2023, at the age of 60, he was driven to end his life by consuming poison, crushed under a financial burden that spiralled out of control.
According to bank records, Nair had availed a loan of ₹25 lakh by pledging his land. But he had always maintained that he had borrowed only ₹80,000.
His death has put the spotlight on the bank, against which grave allegations are emerging.
In 2017, a governing body led by former KPCC general secretary KK Abraham assumed charge of the bank. Since then, charges of corruption running into crores have surfaced, sparking a series of public protests.
It is alleged that the bank duped multiple customers by seizing their title deeds. An inquiry later found financial irregularities amounting to about ₹8.5 crore.
Vijayan (78) and his son Jijesh (38).
On 13 September 2025, Padmaja, a young woman from Kalpetta, attempted suicide, raising serious allegations against the Congress party.
In Wayanad, she is better known as the daughter-in-law of NM Vijayan, who had taken his own life in December 2024 by consuming poison.
Vijayan (78) and his son Jijesh (38) ended their lives after failing to return the huge amounts collected from job seekers, lured with the promise of appointments in the Congress-controlled Sulthan Bathery Cooperative Bank.
In his suicide note, Vijayan pointed fingers at senior Congress leaders, DCC President Appachan, former DCC president and Sulthanbathery MLA Balakrishnan, and former DCC treasurer KK Gopinathan Master, holding them responsible for his death.
Jose Nalledam
The most shocking incident came on 12 September, when Congress leader and Mullankolly panchayat member Jose Nelledam died by suicide.
Just hours earlier, a video of Jose surfaced in which he defended himself against allegations, insisting he had only alerted police about liquor and gambling activities in Perikkalloor, as he had done before.
He stressed that he never took any unlawful benefits and lamented that a smear campaign was destroying his children’s future.
Police recovered notes from his residence, where he accused certain Congress leaders of framing him in a false case and unleashing defamatory campaigns on social media.
When South First spoke to the relatives of the deceased, one thing was clear: They were all loyal to the Congress party. Families and local workers repeatedly pointed to the harsh realities of inner-party politics that pushed these leaders to despair.
Each of the victims was a familiar Congress face in Wayanad, remembered for their tireless efforts in strengthening the party’s hold in the district, which was evident in the last election results.
Although Priyanka Gandhi, who has been in Wayanad since 12 September, has not yet visited the bereaved families. Sources said she voiced concern over the tragedies and urged a comprehensive strategy to restructure the party in the region.
Meanwhile, Kalpetta MLA T Siddique clarified that a portion of NM Vijayan’s debts had been repaid, with additional support extended to his family by the party.
MLA IC Balakrishnan and Wayanad DCC Chief ND Appachan.
Wayanad has three Assembly constituencies — Kalpetta, Sulthan Bathery, and Mananthavady — represented by T Siddique, Balakrishnan, and Minister OR Kelu, respectively. Minority votes, especially those of Christians, Muslims and tribal communities, play a decisive role in the electoral outcome of the district.
Speaking to South First, local journalist Vineesh Ravi noted that despite having only three seats, factionalism in Wayanad is unusually intense, largely driven by the rivalry between Balakrishnan and Appachan.
Kalpetta is the only general seat; the other two are reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs). Some resentment exists over Siddique’s presence, as he hails from Kozhikode.
He had withdrawn his candidature for the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat when Rahul Gandhi chose to contest there, later being given the Kalpetta Assembly seat in 2021, where he defeated LJD’s MV Shreyams Kumar.
A key issue remains the absence of real tribal representation — groups like Paniya, Oorali, and Kuruma are excluded, while only Kurichiyars have limited political presence.
Leadership and power remain concentrated among a few, often used for personal gain. The attack on Appachan in July underscored the depth of factionalism in the district.
BJP staged a protest over suicides among Congress workers in Wayanad.
When South First contacted former Kalpetta MLA and CPI(M) State Committee Member CK Saseendran, he said factionalism within Congress is their internal issue, and he would not comment on it. However, he stressed that the repeated suicides are not an internal matter.
“CPI(M) will launch a massive protest against the suicides and the financial irregularities in Congress-governed cooperative banks. Financial fraud is the main reason behind these tragedies,” he said.
Meanwhile, Wayanad BJP District President Prasanth Malavayal expressed frustration, saying he did not understand why the state and national BJP leadership were not taking up the issue.
“This is the best opportunity to challenge Priyanka Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi ahead of the upcoming Bihar polls,” he remarked.
However, political researcher Mini Mohan offered a different perspective. She acknowledged that the suicides must be addressed, but argued that the current narrative is largely aimed at targeting Congress’s central leadership.
“The problems related to banks cannot be solved overnight. If that were possible, what about the bank notices served to landslide victims? Everyone knows the complexities of financial issues, yet the matter is being weaponised against Congress. This looks more like a collective agenda,” she told South First.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
