Published Mar 17, 2026 | 11:00 AM ⚊ Updated Mar 17, 2026 | 11:00 AM
G Sudhakaran and K Sudhakaran.
Synopsis: Ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls in Kerala, two veteran leaders, K Sudhakaran of the Congress and G Sudhakaran of the CPI(M), have been making headlines following their rifts with their respective parties. The developments have created unexpected internal crises in both the UDF and LDF camps — just weeks before voters head to the polls.
As Kerala moves toward the 2026 Assembly elections, an unusual political symmetry is unfolding across the state’s rival camps. Two veteran leaders — both named Sudhakaran — have become the centre of turbulence within their respective parties.
One is fighting to re-enter the Assembly from his home turf despite resistance from his party leadership.
The other has walked out of the party he served for more than six decades and is preparing to challenge it as an independent.
The parallel developments involving K Sudhakaran of the Congress and G Sudhakaran of the CPI(M) have created unexpected internal crises in both the UDF and LDF camps — just weeks before voters head to the polls.
K Sudhakaran
For more than three decades, the Congress organisation in Kannur has largely revolved around the towering political presence of K Sudhakaran.
His rise within the district Congress dates back to the 1992 organisational elections, when he became the District Congress Committee president.
From that moment, the party’s grassroots network in Kannur began aligning around him.
Sudhakaran also carried the political aura of a fighter who won an MLA seat through a prolonged legal battle after defeating a CPI(M) candidate in the now-defunct Edakkad constituency in the 1991 Assembly election.
Sudhakaran secured the Assembly seat that had earlier been held by N Ramakrishnan, another Congress veteran from Kannur, a development that consolidated his position as the Congress strongman in the district.
Over the years, supporters often claimed that Sudhakaran had almost single-handedly revived Congress’s fortunes in a district long considered a Left bastion.
Three decades later, however, the same leader has become the source of a fresh internal struggle within the party.
As the 2026 Assembly elections approach, Sudhakaran — now nearing his late seventies — has insisted that he will contest from Kannur again, even if it means relinquishing his Lok Sabha seat. The move has put him at odds with the party leadership, which is reluctant to allow sitting MPs to shift to Assembly politics.
Several names, including that of Ramakrishnan’s daughter Amrutha, had surfaced as possible Congress candidates for the constituency. Yet Sudhakaran has made it clear that he intends to contest, declaring that his political journey is inseparable from Kannur.
The standoff has forced the state leadership, led by Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President Sunny Joseph, to intervene. Joseph — who himself is seeking re-election from Peravoor — has publicly emphasised that candidate selection rests with the party high command.
Behind the scenes, national leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, have been drawn into the discussions as the party attempts to resolve the impasse without triggering wider factional tensions.
For Congress workers in Kannur, the situation carries another layer of uncertainty. Many believe that even if Sudhakaran loses, his influence across several constituencies in the district would continue to shape the party’s internal equations.
For voters too, the moment raises an intriguing question: how long will the political journey of a leader who reshaped Kannur Congress in the 1990s continue as the wheel of time turns toward a new generation of politics?
G Sudhakaran
While Congress is struggling to contain one Sudhakaran’s determination to stay in the fray, the LDF is dealing with the opposite problem — another Sudhakaran walking away from the party altogether.
Veteran CPI(M) leader G Sudhakaran, a four-time MLA and former minister from Ambalappuzha, has ended his association with the party after more than 63 years of membership.
His political journey began when he was still in school.
Sudhakaran joined the communist movement while studying in Class 10 at Vallikunnam School in Alappuzha district. His family had already been deeply affected by political violence.
His brother, G Bhuvaneswaran, a unit secretary of the Students Federation of India (SFI) at Pandalam NSS College, was killed in a brutal political attack in December 1977.
The incident left a lasting impact on the family.
Sudhakaran later recalled that his father — once a supporter of the Congress — moved closer to communist ideology after the tragedy.
The episode also contributed to the growth of the SFI student movement in Alappuzha.
Over the decades, Sudhakaran built a reputation within the CPI(M) as a leader known for his straightforward style. Colleagues often described him as a minister who kept officials within strict administrative boundaries and stayed away from corruption.
Even political opponents acknowledged his outspoken nature and personal integrity.
Despite this long record, tensions between Sudhakaran and the party leadership had been simmering for several years.
The immediate trigger dates back to the 2021 Assembly election.
Sudhakaran, who had represented Ambalappuzha for multiple terms, was denied the party ticket under the CPI(M)’s two-term rule.
Instead, the party fielded H Salam. Salam eventually won the seat, but the victory came with a reduced margin.
Allegations soon emerged that sections of the party organisation had not worked wholeheartedly for the new candidate.
To examine the vote decline, the CPI(M) constituted an internal commission with senior leaders Elamaram Kareem and KJ Thomas as members.
Interestingly, the inquiry focused on Ambalappuzha even though several constituencies in Alappuzha district recorded larger vote losses for the Left in 2021, including Aroor, Cherthala, Alappuzha and Mavelikkara.
Based on the commission’s report, Sudhakaran received a public warning from the party. Those close to him say the episode deeply hurt the veteran leader. Over time, repeated remarks from local leaders only aggravated the rift.
Finally, in 2026, Sudhakaran announced that he would not renew his CPI(M) membership.
Soon after leaving the party, Sudhakaran declared that he would contest the upcoming Assembly election from Ambalappuzha as an independent candidate.
The decision has caused visible discomfort within the CPI(M).
State leaders, including CPI(M) General Secretary MA Baby, visited him, while party cadres have been attempting to contain the political fallout.
For the ruling front, the bigger concern is that Sudhakaran still commands considerable personal goodwill in the constituency.
His independent candidature could complicate the electoral arithmetic in a district where margins are often narrow.
According to reports from the Congress camp, UDF will back Sudhakaran even though fissures are there over this in the Congress district leadership. A visible development in this regard came on 16 March as KPCC General Secretary MJ Job resigned in protest against Congress backing Sudhakaran.
The developments have also sparked debate within the party about how senior leaders are treated once they step aside from active electoral politics.
Thus, as Kerala heads toward a crucial election, both major political fronts are grappling with dilemmas triggered by leaders sharing the same surname.
In the UDF camp, K Sudhakaran is determined to contest, challenging the party’s internal discipline. In the LDF camp, G Sudhakaran has chosen to leave, accusing his party of humiliation and neglect.
The contrast has produced one of the more unusual storylines of Kerala’s political season: One Sudhakaran who refuses to stay out of the battle, and another who refuses to stay inside the party.
Whether these parallel dramas will reshape the electoral landscape in Kannur and Ambalappuzha remains to be seen.
However, they have already ensured that, in the run-up to the 2026 polls, two veterans named Sudhakaran have become unavoidable headlines in Kerala politics.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
